Almost a third (35%) of employed Estonians are in a difficult financial situation, when there is no money left after covering their monthly expenses. Only a few can afford to save a significant part of their income, writes rus.err.ee, citing the results of a survey conducted by the employment portal CV.ee. 35% of respondents answered that they do not have the opportunity to save money. 26% of respondents can save up to 10% of their salary, which is a fairly small part. “In the current economic conditions, it is difficult for employees to save money, since salaries have not kept up with the rising cost of living,” said Indrek Harjak, Head of Sales at CV.ee. “Judging by the results of the employer survey, we should not expect a significant increase in salaries in the near future, which in turn makes it increasingly difficult to achieve financial security.” As shown by CV.ee’s labor market monitoring, over 75% of employees are dissatisfied with their current salary. This leaves job seekers worried about the future, as their salary does not cover their living expenses and they have no financial cushion in case of unforeseen circumstances. Employers have also decided not to raise salaries or introduce new additional bonuses in the coming months, which may further reduce employees' financial confidence and increase stress about the future. Almost half of employees have received minimal or no salary increase over the past year. Only a third of employees received a raise of 5-10%, while some even saw their salaries decrease. This puts many people in a difficult situation, where it is becoming increasingly difficult to cope with the rising cost of living, the portal notes. The bulk of expenses of Estonian residents are spent on: – Food and basic necessities (66.1%); – Housing expenses (rent, mortgage) (56.2%); – Utilities and household expenses (48.7%); – Transport (car, public transport) (30.4%); – Loan payments and debt repayments (28.2%); The survey, conducted by the CV.ee portal, involved 3,500 Estonian residents aged 20 to 59.
