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Amárach Economic Recovery Index March 2014
The Economic Recovery Index in Ireland reached a new record high of 34.7 in March 2014, indicating signs of continued recovery. A majority of consumers see clear signs of improvement in the economy but are prioritizing paying down debts over spending. While optimism is higher than a year ago, most consumers remain focused on financial resilience and are cautious about borrowing. Stress and worry levels have declined somewhat since early 2009 at the start of the recession.
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Amárach Economic Recovery Index March 2014
- 1. 1Economic Recovery Index EconomicRecovery Index An Amárach Research Briefing March 2014 © Amárach Research
- 2. 2Economic Recovery Index Springis in the air… Last month we asked whether the rain had put a dampener on the recovery in February? The answer is apparently ‘yes’, because our Economic Recovery Index has bounced back to a new record level in March 2014. The good news is that a record percentage of consumers are seeing clear signs of recovery, but… most are using the economic fair wind to sort themselves out financially – paying down debts is a bigger priority than this time last year. Still, it’s a better picture than a year ago, never mind five years ago: look out for our special 5th anniversary report on the Economic Recovery Index next month.
- 3. 3Economic Recovery Index TheEmotional Recovery We have been reporting our monthly Economic Recovery Index since April 2009. We set out nearly five years ago to assess the psychological impact of the recession and to chart our ‘emotional progress’ towards recovery alongside our ‘economic progress’. This report summarises our Economic Recovery Index results from April 2009 to March 2014. The most recent fieldwork was conducted during 7th-14th March 2014 inclusive. The full data series is on our website – if you want us to conduct additional analyses (by brands etc) then feel free to get in touch.
- 4. 4Economic Recovery Index Usingthe answers to the question on ‘stages of recovery’ we have created the Economic Recovery Index, which ranges from 0 to 100 (0 = deep recession; 100 = back to peak). Our Index has reach a new record of 34.7 in March 2014, the highest in five years: The Economic Recovery Index Source: Amárach Research, March 2014 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 Apr'09 Jun July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan'10 Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan'11 Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan'12 Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan'13 Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan'14 Feb Mar
- 5. 5Economic Recovery Index AMatter of Measurement Feb ’14: 21% Mar ’14: 19% Feb ’14: 39% Mar ’14: 34% Feb ’14: 33% Mar ’14: 36% Feb ’14: 7% Mar ’14: 10% Feb ’14: 0% Mar ’14: 1% Every month we survey a representative, online sample of 1,000 adults and ask them to tell us which one statement ‘best describes the economic situation in Ireland right now’ (listed below) The percentage thinking ‘things are getting worse’ is the lowest since we began:
- 6. 6Economic Recovery Index ERISummary Tables I Which one statement ‘best describes the economic situation in Ireland right now’? % choosing each statement: % The economic situation in Ireland is getting worse The economic situation is bad but has stabilized The economic situation is bad but showing a few signs of improvement The economic situation is getting better and showing clear signs of improvement The economic situation is good and almost fully recovered Economic Recovery Index Mar-10 36 35 27 2 0 23.5 Mar-11 48 30 20 2 0 19.2 Mar-12 43 29 24 4 0 22.3 Mar-13 41 29 25 5 0 24.0 Feb-14 21 39 33 7 0 31.7 Mar-14 19 34 36 10 1 34.7
- 7. 7Economic Recovery Index ERISummary Tables II % agree strongly/slightly with selected statements: % Ireland will be through the worst of the recession in 12 months time I feel I am financially comfortable enough to make it through the recession I am optimistic in spite of the current economic situation Right now it seems like the recession is affecting other people more than it is affecting me Mar-10 42 43 54 55 Mar-11 25 36 48 47 Mar-12 30 40 50 48 Mar-13 30 40 44 47 Feb-14 38 41 52 47 Mar-14 37 40 49 45
- 8. 8Economic Recovery Index ERISummary Tables III % agree strongly/slightly with selected statements: % I am more relaxed about spending money than I was a few months ago I am saving a lot more than before because of the recession My main financial priority is to pay off my debts as quickly as possible I would be happy to borrow money from a bank if I need to Mar-10 18 25 61 30 Mar-11 13 23 58 23 Mar-12 18 29 55 24 Mar-13 19 27 53 25 Feb-14 22 25 58 24 Mar-14 23 24 58 26
- 9. 9Economic Recovery Index ERISummary Tables IV % agree strongly/slightly with selected statements: % I always buy the lowest price products or services I am always on the lookout for opportunities to switch to cheaper suppliers I have more choice than before when it comes to products and services I always buy Irish when I can Apr-13 57 71 52 52 May-13 58 69 54 54 Jun-13 55 70 55 51 Jul-13 56 70 52 53 Aug-13 57 70 53 53 Sep-13 59 72 53 54 Oct-13 58 69 52 51 Nov-13 56 69 55 51 Dec-13 54 68 54 53 Jan-14 59 74 56 54 Feb-14 56 70 57 52 Mar-14 57 68 56 48
- 10. 10Economic Recovery Index FinancialResilience % of Irish adults who agree/disagree with the statement (by sex, age, class, Dublin): “I feel I am financially comfortable enough to make it through the recession” Source: Amárach Research, March 2014 March 2014 TOTAL Male Female 15-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55+ Dublin ABC1 F50+ C2DE F50- Weighted Sample 1000 494 506 169 223 187 156 265 279 477 523 Strongly Agree 10% 12% 7% 9% 11% 6% 9% 12% 13% 13% 7% Slightly Agree 31% 29% 32% 29% 28% 26% 25% 40% 31% 40% 22% Neither/Nor 15% 16% 14% 14% 20% 15% 11% 14% 15% 12% 18% Slightly Disagree 23% 22% 24% 29% 20% 28% 27% 16% 20% 21% 25% Strongly Disagree 19% 19% 19% 13% 20% 24% 26% 15% 18% 13% 25%
- 11. 11Economic Recovery Index SpendingPower % of Irish adults who agree/disagree with the statement (by sex, age, class, Dublin): “I am more relaxed about spending money than I was a few months ago” Source: Amárach Research, March 2014 March 2014 TOTAL Male Female 15-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55+ Dublin ABC1 F50+ C2DE F50- Weighted Sample 1000 494 506 169 223 187 156 265 279 477 523 Strongly Agree 7% 10% 5% 13% 10% 7% 4% 5% 10% 10% 5% Slightly Agree 15% 16% 14% 14% 21% 14% 13% 14% 17% 17% 14% Neither/Nor 19% 20% 17% 16% 15% 23% 18% 21% 24% 21% 16% Slightly Disagree 24% 23% 26% 30% 22% 23% 21% 26% 21% 25% 24% Strongly Disagree 33% 29% 36% 25% 29% 31% 44% 34% 27% 25% 39%
- 12. 12Economic Recovery Index Indebted %of Irish adults who agree/disagree with the statement (by sex, age, class, Dublin): “I would be happy to borrow money from a bank if I needed to” Source: Amárach Research, March 2014 March 2014 TOTAL Male Female 15-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55+ Dublin ABC1 F50+ C2DE F50- Weighted Sample 1000 494 506 169 223 187 156 265 279 477 523 Strongly Agree 6% 7% 5% 5% 8% 7% 6% 6% 8% 7% 6% Slightly Agree 20% 21% 18% 18% 25% 22% 18% 15% 24% 21% 18% Neither/Nor 14% 17% 11% 10% 20% 16% 10% 13% 15% 14% 14% Slightly Disagree 23% 22% 25% 32% 22% 24% 22% 20% 24% 25% 22% Strongly Disagree 33% 30% 37% 29% 22% 30% 42% 43% 26% 28% 38%
- 13. 13Economic Recovery Index TheMood of the Nation 1 Did you experience any of these feelings a lot of the day yesterday? % saying Yes: April 2009 to March 2014 Source: Amárach Research, March 2014 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% Apr'09 May Jun Jul Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan'10 Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan'11 Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan'12 Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan'13 Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan'14 Feb Mar Enjoyment Happiness Stress Worry
- 14. 14Economic Recovery Index TheMood of the Nation 2 Did you experience any of these feelings a lot of the day yesterday? % saying Yes: April 2009 to March 2014 Source: Amárach Research, March 2014 0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30% 35% 40% Apr'09 May Jun Jul Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan'10 Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan'11 Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan'12 Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan'13 Feb Mar Apr May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan'14 Feb Mar Anxiety Sadness Pain Anger
- 15. 15Economic Recovery Index ChangingMoods Source: Amárach Research, March 2014 March 2014 TOTAL Male Female 15-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55+ Dublin ABC1 F50+ C2DE F50- Weighted Sample 1000 494 506 169 223 187 156 265 279 477 523 Enjoyment 55% 54% 56% 54% 47% 46% 55% 67% 55% 57% 52% Happiness 54% 50% 58% 59% 50% 50% 50% 58% 50% 55% 52% Stress 42% 38% 46% 54% 48% 49% 39% 26% 42% 43% 41% Worry 37% 32% 42% 35% 46% 38% 39% 29% 36% 35% 38% Anxiety 30% 26% 33% 34% 34% 32% 33% 19% 30% 32% 27% Boredom 28% 27% 30% 43% 37% 27% 24% 16% 33% 30% 27% Physical Pain 25% 24% 26% 21% 22% 25% 24% 31% 24% 24% 26% Sadness 22% 20% 25% 28% 23% 26% 22% 16% 22% 24% 20% Anger 19% 20% 17% 19% 23% 29% 16% 9% 17% 18% 20% Fear 11% 10% 11% 15% 14% 12% 9% 5% 13% 13% 9% Did you experience any of these feelings a lot of the day yesterday? % saying Yes: March 2014
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- 17. Drivers & Drinking weask the right questions so you get the right answers Image: http://yourawakenedself.com/tag/jacob-nordby/
- 18. Trends Report Call uson 01 410 5200 if you want maximize the prize in 2014: e. info@amarach.com w. www.amarach.com b. www.amarach.com/blog t. twitter.com/AmarachResearch For more on the ERI see: http://www.amarach.com/resources/economic-recovery-index.htm