CVVM: More than half of Czechs have problem to get by on incomes

Prague, Nov 20 (CTK) - More than a half of Czechs, or 54 percent of people, find it difficult to get by on their current amount of income, a poll by the Public Opinion Research Centre (CVVM) has shown.

Some 35 percent of the respondents said it is rather difficult to make both ends meet on their households' incomes, while 6 percent said it is very difficult.

Pensioners, the unemployed, unqualified workers, people with elementary and high-school education without a school-leaving exam, potential voters of the Communist Party (KSCM) and those who would not go to the polls more often reported problems to manage on their incomes.

In contrast, above all the self-employed, bosses, highly qualified experts, people with high-school education with a school-leaving exam and university graduates, voters of the Civic Democratic Party (ODS) and people speaking about their standard of living as good said they do not have any difficulties.

More than a quarter of Czechs (27 percent) said they found themselves in a very difficult financial situation sometime during last year, CVVM said.

In contrast, more than two thirds of the respondents said they do not have such experience and 3 percent said they could not comment on the matter.

Two-thirds of Czechs consider their household neither rich or poor. A quarter of people think their household is rather poor and 3 percent said their household is very poor. Some 6 percent said their household is rather rich.

But a vast majority of households (94 percent) can fulfill their basic needs from own incomes. Around 6 percent of the respondents said they have problems to finance their basic needs.

Some 59 percent of people reported no problems to finance hobbies of household members from their incomes.

A total of 834 Czechs older than 15 years took part in the poll the CVVM carried out in early October.