One in Three Finns Can't Get By on Present Salary, Survey Finds

As the economic reality has undergone a marked change in recent months, a third of Finns cannot get by on their salary, a survey by pollster Oikotie has found.

At the same time, 42 percent of Finns have cut what they spend on food, clothes, interior design and electronics this autumn after being hit by a double-whammy of rises in energy prices and the cost of living. Hobbies and driving seem to be among the last things people save on, but even so 36 percent of Finns have reduced spending on hobbies, and 38 percent on driving.

“Clothing purchases have been the most common reduction, specifically because of the price increase. More than half, 51 percent, of Finns have not bought clothes this autumn. The second most common thing is to cut back on grocery shopping with 44 percent tightening their belt because of the price increase. The third-largest most popular economy to make at 43 percent are services,” Oikotie director Joonas Pihlajamaa said in a statement.

The prevailing inflation has also been reflected in salary increase requests. Between September and November alone, 17 percent of Finns have asked for a rise in salary, with only half of them getting one. Next year, wholly 43 percent plan to ask for a salary increase, as the inflation is bound to continue next year.

“Employers should take into account the broad desire for wage increases. Of course, you don't have to respond positively to requests for a salary increase, but refusal inevitably creates motivation to change jobs. And when up to 43 percent of Finns plan to ask for a raise, the mass is quite large,” Pihlajamaa said.

In October, food prices in Finland saw a 15.9-percent year-on-year jump and are rising at a rate that is by far the fastest in the 2000s and unseen since the energy crisis of the Seventies. Furthermore, numerous experts, banks and other financial institutions warned that food and electricity will continue accelerating inflation for several months to come, with no signs of a slowdown in sight.

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The rise in housing costs and the inflation-driven increase in interest rates is about to push house prices in Finland to a level not seen since mid-Nineties, the Mortgage Society of Finland (Hypo) has warned.

Finland’s spiraling crisis, which largely is in line with that of the eurozone, has been driven by Helsinki’s self-crippling sanctions against Russia and its energy which was meant as “punishment” for the special operation in Ukraine. With a shortages of gas and electricity, Finland has warned of possible rolling power cuts this winter. The nation’s energy crisis has been exacerbated by the delay at the troubled Olkiluoto 3 reactor that will remain out of service longer than expected, and full-scale electricity production will not recommence before 2023.