The mood of residents in Latvia at the end of 2025 is contradictory: hopes for salary increases are rising, but concerns about the growth of everyday expenses remain, as shown by the Citadele Bank study "Purchasing Power Barometer," reports Diena.
"Expectations for salary increases are becoming increasingly optimistic. This is due to a stable level of employment and pressure on companies to gradually raise employee wages. However, the public's assessment of the overall financial situation is deteriorating due to inflation in food and housing prices, which has been particularly exacerbated by a 12% increase in heating tariffs in Riga. It should be noted that in October 2025, food prices in Latvia rose by 5.6% compared to October 2024, while housing costs increased by 6.2%, negatively impacting consumers' assessment of their financial situation," said the chief economist of Citadele, Karlis Purgalis.
Only 17% of respondents plan to spend money on travel in the near future, and only 15% of respondents plan to allocate funds for home renovations. There is also little interest in purchasing cars (5%) and housing (2.5%). In the Citadele survey, 6.8% of respondents indicated that they plan to save money rather than spend it on large purchases.
Next year, inflation will be the most important factor affecting the development opportunities of businesses. This opinion is held by 48% of representatives of small and medium-sized enterprises in Latvia. 30% of respondents express concern about the global geopolitical situation, while 22% are worried about the situation in the Baltic countries.
Approximately 25% of respondents believe that the purchasing power of the population significantly affects their business. 23% emphasize that a pressing issue is finding and retaining the necessary workforce. This is confirmed by a survey conducted by Luminor Bank and the Norstat agency.
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