The incomes of nearly 30 per cent of households have shrunk, according to the preliminary findings of
a nationally representative survey conducted by the Open Society Institute and the World Bank in February and March.

The figures were quoted on Thursday at a roundtable on the economic downturn and its impact on families.

The survey, whose first part took place in February and March, found that family incomes dropped mostly due job losses or wage cuts.

Job loss - the worst shock in the labour market - affected 5 per cent of the employees. Thirty per cent were affected by wage cuts and shorter hours, which are less severe negative impacts.

The most vulnerable groups - people with primary or lower education and the Roma - are most at risk of losing their job and income, the survey found. In contrast, few pensioners' households reported a shrinkage of incomes.

Most families tried to offset the drop in incomes by finding a sideline. However, this option was available only to better educated, well-off people, while 60 per cent of the poorest and hardest-hit households had no such luck. Only 22 per cent of the households said they had some savings.

Households coped with the crisis by cutting their expenses on basic necessities: 41 per cent skimped on basic utility services, 29 per cent reduced their consumption of staple foods,and 8 per cent skipped meals.

Similarly to the other countries of Central and Eastern Europe, households affected by the crisis
cut their spending on health care, and even stopped going to doctors or buying prescribed medicines.

The next stages of the survey have been scheduled for September 2010 and February 2011.