Over half of Rio de Janeiro consumers trust the economy – Fecomércio survey

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Over half of Rio de Janeiro consumers (51.2%) are confident or very confident in the Brazilian economy over the next 3 months, according to the June edition of the “Visão do Consumidor” (Consumer Perception) survey, conducted by the Fecomércio Institute for Research and Analysis (IFEC RJ).

This is the third consecutive increase in the index and the first time the indicator exceeds 50% since it began to be conducted in July 2020. The index stood at 24% in March, increased to 25.9% in April and to 35.2% in May.

Conducted with 301 consumers in the state of Rio de Janeiro between June 10 and 16, the survey also shows improved confidence in other indicators, such as the reduction of fear of losing a job. After reaching a record 62.1% in March, the share of Rio de Janeiro consumers who are very afraid of losing their jobs has dropped for 3 consecutive months, reaching 39.2% in June, well below the 49.8% in May. Meanwhile, groups that are not very afraid of losing their jobs (17.1% in May and 27.2% in June) or that are not afraid of losing their jobs (33% in May and 34.6% in June) are growing.

The assessment of family income also corroborates the higher optimism among Rio de Janeiro consumers. The share of respondents who believe in an increase in income rose for the third consecutive month, reaching 32.9% in June. The index stood at 15.1% in April and at 22.7% in May. The group of those who expect a reduction in family income dropped from 60.8% in March to 50.2% in April, 37.7% in May, and 22.6% in June.

The total of Rio de Janeiro residents who said they were indebted or heavily indebted fell from 57.6% in May to 50.2% in June, while the share of those who said they were slightly indebted remained stable at 20.3%. The percentage of consumers who are not in debt, in turn, increased from 20.6% to 29.6%.