(MENAFN- Arab Times) The latest Bayt.com Middle East and North Africa Consumer Confidence Index survey, conducted by Bayt.com, the Middle East's number one job site, and YouGov, a leading market research agency, shows that while 46% of Kuwait respondents say that their savings have decreased in comparison to last year, the majority of residents have a positive outlook on the future of the country's economy, as well as their own financial future.
22% of Kuwait respondents believe that the country's economy has improved in the last six months, while 22% believe that it has receded. 41% of respondents believe that the economy has remained the same. Additionally, 44% of respondents expect the economy to improve in the next six months, while 26% expect it to remain the same.
35% respondents in Kuwait believe that business conditions are either good or very good, while 21% believe that business conditions are either bad or very bad. Moreover, the majority of employed respondents (56%) believe that business conditions will improve in a year's time.
25% of Kuwait respondents believe that their or their family's current financial situation is better now than it was six months ago, and 47% believe that it remained the same. 19% believe that their financial situation is worse. The future outlook is positive too: 56% of respondents believe that their personal financial situation will improve in the next six months, while 25% believe that it will remain the same. When it comes to cost of living, 77% of respondents expect it to increase, while 11% expect it to remain the same.
46% of Kuwait respondents say that their savings have decreased in comparison to last year. 15% claim that their savings have increased, while 33% claim that they have remained the same.
Invest
38% of those surveyed in Kuwait are planning to invest in a motor vehicle in the next 12 months. Of those, 32% are planning to buy a new vehicle, while 37% are planning to buy a used one. 46% of Kuwait respondents are not planning on purchasing a vehicle.
When it comes to investing in property, 30% of Kuwait respondents are planning to invest in the next 12 months, while more than half have no plans to invest. Of those who are planning to buy property, half will invest in an apartment, while 30% plan to buy a villa/townhouse/bungalow and 20% will purchase commercial property. Majority (51%) of respondents who are planning to invest in property in Kuwait plan to buy new property in the next 12 months, while 15% will invest in pre-owned property.
Regarding consumer goods, 22% of Kuwait residents plan to purchase a tablet or smartphone in the next six months, while 22% will invest in a desktop or laptop. More than one in 5 respondents from Kuwait are planning to buy furniture over the same time period. An LCD or Plasma television (14%), air conditioner (11%), washing machine (10%) and refrigerator (9%), are also among the respondents' list of priorities.
Presently, 40% of the respondents surveyed believe that there are plenty of jobs available in Kuwait, with 20% claiming availability across multiple industries and 20% claiming availability across a limited number of industries. 45% believe that there are few jobs available in Kuwait. In regards to future availability of jobs, 32% of Kuwait respondents expect job availability to increase in the next six months.
In Kuwait, 39% of employed respondents feel that the number of employees in their companies over the past six months has increased, while 29% believe the opposite to be true. Over the course of the next six months, 40% of employed Kuwait respondents expect the number of employees in their organisation to increase.
Career
With regards to satisfaction levels, a little under half of employed Kuwait respondents (49%) are satisfied with career growth opportunities. 35% are satisfied with their current compensation while 46% are dissatisfied with their current salary and allowances. When it comes to non-monetary benefits 42% of employed Kuwait respondents are satisfied, while 40% feel the opposite. 49% of employed respondents in Kuwait feel secure in their jobs.
"When looking at the region in its entirety, the outlook is a positive one," said Suhail Al-Masri, VP of Sales, Bayt.com. "When it comes to jobs, the outlook is positive as well. Now is a good time for professionals to focus on job search strategies, and brand themselves online. A great way to do this is through our Bayt.com Public Profile, where jobseekers can create a profile solely for themselves and increase their visibility on popular search engines. At Bayt.com, we always endeavour to empower the region's job seekers and employers by providing them with the latest technology and vital statistics relating to recruitment."
Elissavet Vraka, Research Manager, YouGov, said: "Gauging consumer opinion is a powerful tool for revealing the current attitudes and sentiments about the business and economic conditions in a specific country. With the majority of people anticipating an increase in living costs and having experienced a decrease in savings, it may be time to take an evaluative look at the stability of personal financial situations."
Data for the Bayt.com Consumer Confidence Index survey was collected online from July 27 to Aug 2, 2015, with 8,882 respondents from the UAE, KSA, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria. Males and females aged over 18 years old, of all nationalities, were included in the survey.
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