Great Consumer Expectations

Great Consumer Expectations

Study says consumer confidence is rising and people are optimistic about the economy, but job prospects stay sombre and the cost of living remains high.

April 14, 2011 3:27 by Precious de Leon

Respondents were also asked what they feel their propensity to consume is, as part of the Propensity to Consume Index (PCI). UAE saw a relatively small drop of 3.7 points; the highest drop in the region was recorded by Qatar at 22.2 points. At the other end of the scale, Kuwait recorded the largest rise, moving up the index by 1.9 points.

Property loses

Asked whether they would invest in property, the respondents largely agree that they will not. The trend continues from the previous quarter with a majority of respondents (62 percent) stating they are not interested in making any investment in property.

Within the UAE, 66 percent say they will not be buying any property. Of those wishing to purchase a property in the UAE, 65 percent say they are likely to opt for a new property.

Another contributor to the CCI is the Employee Confidence Index (ECI), which measures the attitudes of respondents to the local job market, in terms of their satisfaction towards the availability of jobs and their satisfaction with their salary.

The UAE saw a rise of 2.7 index points in line with last quarter’s rise. Showing the biggest increase is once again Bahrain, which moved up the index by 12.6 points.

When asked whether they believe more jobs will be available in a year’s time, respondents are roughly divided: 38 percent say more will be available, 24 percent say the job situation will remain the same and 19 percent say the availability of jobs will be worse. In the UAE, 40 percent believe the availability of jobs will get better while 20 percent of respondents believe the availability of jobs will become worse.

In terms of salaries and whether they have kept pace with the cost of living, as in the previous wave, the majority feel that they have not kept pace with the cost of living, with 59 percent agreeing that there is a disparity, while just 16 percent agree they have increased inline with the cost of living, and 5 percent say they have increased more than the cost of living.

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Tags: consumer, consumer confidence, financial, index, index points, Job, optimism, property