THE ROMANIAN STANDARD OF LIVING AND THE ECONOMIC CRISIS

It is quite obvious that the purchasing power of the population in 2009 will be seriously affected. The daily consumption calculated by the National Statistics Institute is made up to 37.7% by food, beverages and cigarettes, and any rise in the price of them will have direct effects on the living standards. Gross wage in March 2009 was 446 euros, down from 470 euro, level registered in 2008. If in 2008 employees have received salary increases in terms of economic record growth in 2009 the situation has changed radically, most companies announcing the freezing of salaries. Revenues of the private sector were reduced and even stagnant. The inflation rate in April of 6.45% puts Romania in first place among European Union countries as regards the negative developments of the economy. Although desirable for wages is to keep pace with rising prices, the depreciation rate against the euro led to a decrease in income reported to the European currency. According to a study conducted by Unicef and the World Bank, the number of people living in poverty in our country will reach 1.59 million this year, 370,000 people more than in 2008.