Swedbank has told LETA that 46% of respondents in a survey in Latvia that was conducted by the Institute of Finance reported that they gained additional income during the course of last year.

This was one of the highest percentages in recent years, which suggests that people are interested in strengthening their financial situation by taking advantage of additional opportunities for profit.

Respondents most often cited investments (12% of respondents), provision of services (10%), consultancy (10%), as well as housekeeping services (7%).  Less often people rented out property (5%), sold homemade food (5%), or offered arts and crafts (4%).

70% of respondents in the survey reported extra income up to EUR 200 per month, 25% reported earning between EUR 201 and EUR 800, and 6% managed to earn more than 800 euros per month.

For 58% of respondents, extra money is a must. They earn a living from their main place of employment, but they want to do extra work in pursuit of higher goals aimed at improving life quality. 42% said that additional income also covers basic needs.

Surveyors also asked those who are not earing extra income at this time whether they would like to do so in future, and the share was 27% (as against 33% previously). At the same time, the percentage of people who said that they have no need for additional income was also 27%, but that was a slight increase over previous results.

Asked about what keeps them from earning additional finances, 40% cited a lack of time, 24% – a fear of failure, and 19% – a lack of skills. Most of these are individual reasons which are not linked to systemic problems.

The survey was conducted by Snapshots on behalf of Swedbank’s Institute of Finance in March of this year, surveying 1,006 residents of Latvia aged 18 to 74.

Source: BNS

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