A pullback in consumer and business confidence dragged the Economic Pulse lower in July 2022. The Bank of Ireland Economic Pulse came in at 70.2. The index combines the results of the Consumer and Business Pulses, and the latest figures reflect a 17-month low.
The outcome is due to households feeling the pinch from inflation and fretting about the economy as well as firms being more circumspect about business activity.
In terms of wage expectations, the findings show that 44% of workers are anticipating a pay rise in the next 12 months (to the tune of 3.5% on average), while just over half of firms are planning on increasing basic pay for their employees (by a little over 4% on average).
Buying sentiment took a knock this month too, with just one in six considering it a good time to make major purchases like furniture or electrical goods and a record 64% saying that they are holding out on spending because they are not sure which way economic policy is going to go.
At 97.7 in July 2022, the Housing Pulse was 12.9 lower than in June and down 21.8 on a year ago. Interest rate hiking by the European Central Bank means higher mortgage repayments for some and may have contributed to the slippage in the share of respondents saying it is cheaper to buy than rent in the July survey (68% versus 76% in April).