The economic mid-winter?

After a week which saw the IMF expressing concern about the state of the UK economy, a new global poll released today by Ipsos finds British consumers in gloomy mood. Just 12% of Britons describe the current economic situation in their country as “good”, down 4 points since last month. This marks the 30th successive month where the score has been below 20 per cent. The only countries in the 24-nation Ipsos Economic Pulse of the World survey with lower ratings than Britain are all in Europe: France (where 6% say their economy is in good shape), Hungary (also 6%), Spain (5%), Italy (4%) and Portugal (3%). At the other end of the scale are two European countries which are feeling very much more confident. Three-quarters of Swedes (73%) say their economic situation is “good” – very similar to the 72% recorded by China.

Meanwhile, 64% of Germans say things are good in their country, which is in line with India’s 63%.

The survey underlines the very different economic climate the new Bank of England Governor will face when he takes up his position this summer. Some 65% of Mark Carney’s fellow Canadians say their economy in good condition, more than five times the figure recorded on this side of the Atlantic. A modest recovery in consumer sentiment appears to be in place in the United States. Here 31% say their economy is in a good shape, the fourth month in a row that the US figure has hovered around the 30% mark. This represents a marked improvement on the comparable period 12 months ago, when scores were in the region of 20%. Looking ahead, just 9% of Britons expect to see an improvement over the next 6 months, with only Hungary (8%), Belgium (7%) and France (3%) recording lower scores.

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Deputy Chief Executive at Ipsos Simon Atkinson, said:

"This first measure of the Spring sees economic optimism across much of Europe in the deep freeze, with Britons shivering along with the French, Spanish and Italians. The shining exceptions are Germany and Sweden, who display confidence levels more in line with China and India than their European neighbours.”

Technical note

• The survey instrument is conducted monthly in 24 countries via the Ipsos Online Panel system.
• For the results of the survey herein, an total sample of 18,331 adults age 18-64 in the US and Canada, and age 16-64 in all other countries, was interviewed between March 5th and March 19th 2013.
• Approximately 1000+ individuals were surveyed in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Great Britain, India, Italy, Japan, Spain, and the United States of America.
• Approximately 500+ individuals were surveyed in Argentina, Belgium, Hungary, Indonesia, Mexico, Poland, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, South Korea, Sweden and Turkey.
• Sample characteristics: the sample is made up of “Primary Consumers” who are a comparable, standardized weighted group in each country based on a minimum level of education and income.
• For a majority of the countries surveyed the Primary Consumer population is also representative of the general population based on the latest census. More details can be found at www.ipsosglobaladvisor.com
• The precision of Ipsos online polls are calculated using a credibility interval with a poll of 1,000 accurate to +/- 3.5 percentage points and of 500 accurate to +/- 5.0 percentage points.
• For more information on the Ipsos use of credibility intervals, please visit the Ipsos website.