K&H: middle-aged Hungarians are more shy, despite their higher income

By: Trademagazin Date: 2024. 11. 18. 09:03

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The income of middle-aged people shows a gradual increase over the decade, in the last four quarters, this amount has been stably above HUF 500,000 per household, compared to, for example, the value below HUF 300,000 before 2018. Despite the sustained rise, many people do not feel financially secure. 20 percent of 30-59-year-olds can be said to be downright pessimistic.

Although the income of middle-aged people shows an increase over several years, they still do not feel that their financial situation is really stable – this is how K&H’s latest research can be summarized, which among other things examined the situation of 30-59 year olds in the third quarter.

Only 25 percent of those surveyed consider their own financial situation to be positive, or completely predictable and secure, and the other extreme is represented by the 20 percent who see their financial situation in a particularly negative way, which indicates significant uncertainty. According to the overall results, only 54 percent of the respondents see their financial background as favorable or relatively positive, while the others, i.e. almost half of the respondents, have a negative opinion. The proportion of the latter increased modestly compared to the previous quarter.

What do the forint-denominated data show?

The average income in the household of the respondents was HUF 528,000. This means a correction of almost HUF 40,000 compared to the highest value measured so far in the previous quarter, HUF 566,000, but still exceeds the average values of HUF 500,000 measured in the previous three quarters. Looking at the longer-term trends, it can be seen that since 2015, the income of households has been gradually increasing. According to the survey, the average household income of middle-aged people crossed HUF 300,000 in 2018, HUF 400,000 at the end of 2021, and HUF 500,000 a year ago.

The fact that, despite the trend-like increase in income, the feeling of financial security is low can partly be explained by the caution of households. For the time being, many households are uncertain about the outlook, which can also be seen in the data on retail sales. This can partly be justified by the fact that the population experienced a decrease in real terms due to exceptionally high inflation last year, i.e. their purchasing power was more restrained. Although earnings and real wages show a significant increase at the level of the national economy this year, the population has not yet begun to spend more boldly, they are still postponing more serious purchases.