According to the first European Barometer of Poverty and Insecurity, released this Wednesday, every second Portuguese currently working feels that his salary does not cover all his expenses.
A study report by Ipsos says the situation for European workers is “very worrying, especially in Portugal and Serbia.”
“Having a job does not necessarily mean being able to survive financially,” study author Etienne Mercier wrote in a statement, stressing that this situation affects more than a third (36%) of European workers.
Commissioned by the French non-governmental organization Secours Populaire Français, the study involved ten thousand people aged 18 and over in ten countries (Germany, France, Greece, Italy, Poland, United Kingdom, Moldova, Portugal, Romania and Serbia). .
Nearly three in 10 Europeans, including 49% of Greeks, said they were in a precarious situation that forced them to give up certain needs, such as getting enough food or heating their homes, the barometer warned.
Due to the “difficult financial situation”, 62% of Europeans have already limited their travel, and 46% have already given up heating their homes in winter, despite the cold.
In addition, 38% of respondents do not eat three times a day, 39% have stopped buying meat for reasons of economy, and 10% turn to charities for food.
The situation has “improved slightly” from last year in countries hardest hit by inflation, such as Greece, but remains “very worrying” in all countries covered by the investigation, according to Secours Populaire Français.
On the other hand, the barometer highlights that 76% of Europeans said they are ready to personally participate in helping people living in poverty.
The report says the figure is “particularly high in countries where social hardship is more prevalent: Greece, Portugal and Serbia” (84%).