(MENAFN - Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) A recent economic survey showed "optimism" about the consumer confidence index (CCI) in Kuwait next year compared with 2011 and 2012.
The study - jointly conducted by Bayt.com job site and YouGov Definitive Insights - attracted respondents from Kuwait, Middle East and North Africa. 49 percent of the sample opined that the year 2013 will be better than 2011 and 2012 in terms of personal financial and job conditions and 50 percent believed that more jobs will be created.
Comparatively, 39 percent anticipated that inflation and cost of living will edge up next year, and 36 percent predicted property prices to surge next year, according to the survey.
As for Kuwait, every seven out of ten Kuwaiti respondents said their current financial conditions either saw no change or improved last year, while 38 percent were in the belief that the Kuwaiti economy remained unchanged, it indicated.
The majority of respondents said it is now a neutral or bad time to purchase, as 45 percent thought that work conditions are "neutral" and 81 percent said there are either "not many or very few" jobs for the time being, the study said.
Seventy-one percent noted their pays could not meet costs of living in Kuwait, and 63 percent said the number of employees in their companies either remained unchanged or dropped, it added. Forty percent expected the costs of living and property prices to be high in Kuwait over the next 12 months, while 28 percent said they could buy cars in the same period and 33 percent will buy new cars.
As many respondents showed optimism about a more positive year, six out of 10 participants predicted their personal financial conditions to improve, while 43 percent believed that the Kuwaiti economy will do better, with the majority of respondents being upbeat about better job conditions.
The study also expected computers, laptops, furniture and TV sets to be highly demanded respectively next year.
As many as 10,000 people aged over 18 years were involved in the survey, which was conducted via Internet between September 30 and October 14, 2012. The respondents are from the GCC, North Africa and Arab Mashreq countries.
