SHARE
COPY LINK

EUROPEAN UNION

Danes most optimistic about jobs recovery

The newly-released Eurobarometer report is chock-full of signs that Danes are satisfied with their lives and think things will only get better.

Danes most optimistic about jobs recovery
It's good to be a Dane. Photo: Christian Alsing/Copenhagen Media Collection
Optimism abounds in Denmark. The Eurobarometer report for spring 2014 shows that Danes feel more satisfied with their standard of living, more likely to believe that the financial crisis is over and more positive toward the EU than most other European countries. 
 
In 27 Member States, majorities of respondents consider their standard of living to be satisfactory. A full 96 percent of Danes reported a satisfactory standard of living, trailing only the Swedes. Bulgaria was the one EU country in which a majority was unsatisfied with the national standard of living.
 
When it comes to Denmark’s national economy, 82 percent of Danish respondents felt that the situation was ‘good’, an eight percent increase over last year and well above the EU28 average of 63 percent of respondents who felt their country’s economy was in good shape.
 
Danes feel even better about their own finances. A full 91 percent felt their household financial situation was good, while 85 percent were satisfied with their jobs and 92 percent reported that the quality in life in Denmark was good. All three indicators were well above the EU28 average. 
 
And while just 24 percent of European respondents felt that the economy of their respective countries would improve over the next twelve months, 53 percent of Danes thought things would get better. 
 
More than three fourths of Danes felt that the financial crisis's impact on jobs has past its peak, compared to the EU 28 average of just 44 percent. The 78 percent of Danes who were optimistic about post-crisis job recovery was the highest in all of the EU. 
 
Danes are certainly not without their worries, however. Thirty-five percent of Danes felt that unemployment was the most important issue facing the country, followed by health and social security at 27 percent. Unemployment was the top concern of 48 percent of respondents on the EU level.
 
Sentiment toward the EU within Denmark is also more positive than the European average. Seventy-three percent of Danes reported feeling like a citizen of the EU, compared to the EU28 average of 65 percent, while 62 percent of Danes said they were aware of their rights as EU citizens compared to the overall average of 48 percent. 
 
The 75 percent of Danes who felt their voice matters in the EU was second only to the 78 percent of Swedes who felt the same. 

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.