Consumer confidence in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has increased for the third consecutive time, according to the latest Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) - a quarterly survey conducted by the Middle East's number one job site Bayt.com in conjunction with research specialists YouGov Siraj. The index is a measure of consumer expectations and satisfaction of various elements of the economy including inflation, job opportunities and the cost of living. The survey showed that the Kingdom's index inched up 1.0 point. Among the respondents in the Kingdom, just 27 percent said they are better off than last year. Furthermore, another 28 percent of KSA's respondents said they feel they are worse off than the last year. Those feeling worst hit were respondents in Jordan and the UAE, where 42 percent and 40 percent respectively said their financial position was worse than the year before. “Despite the steady and positive improvements that were recorded in consumer confidence in the last wave, the latest figures suggest that optimism related to the region's economies emerging strongly from the global financial crisis has somewhat declined over the last few months,” said Joanna Longworth, Chief Marketing Officer, YouGov Siraj. “In saying that however, the last couple of months have brought a number of challenges for some countries in the region according to news reports, but despite this, consumer confidence has not dropped as much as some people had probably predicted.” Asked how they expect their personal financial position to be a year from now, the respondents were largely optimistic that things would change for the better. Overall, 47 percent of respondents said that their personal financial position will be better, and as in the previous wave, just 8 percent of the region's respondents expected their personal financial position to be worse. Saudi Arabia was above the regional average in terms of optimism: 52 percent of respondents said that things will be better a year from now. Most optimistic among those surveyed were respondents in Oman - 57 percent said their personal finances will be better next year. In addition to anticipated improvements in their personal financial position, respondents remain optimistic that their country's economy will be better in a year's time. As in the previous wave, 40 percent said that their country's economy will be better, compared to just 19 percent of those who said it would become worse. Currently, respondents in Oman, Qatar and Algeria are the most positive about the expected improvements in their country's economy, with 55 percent, 53 percent and 51 percent respectively stating things will be better. In Saudi Arabia, 47 percent expect things to be better in a year's time, while just 15 percent said they believe things will become worse. Asked about their propensity to consume as part of the Propensity to Consume Index (PCI), respondents , the surveyed countries varied significantly. Continuing the trend, the UAE moved down the index by 10.0 index points - the largest drop among the surveyed countries. At the other end of the spectrum, Bahrain recorded an overwhelming increase, moving up the index by an astonishing 26.7 index points. Following from Bahrain's index improvement was Algeria, which noted a significant 13.9 point move up the index. The picture was relatively bleak around the rest of the Gulf. Saudi Arabia was the only GCC country to see an improvement in the index, moving up by 2.2 points. Kuwait and Qatar both reported moves down the index by 7.5 and 6.2 index points respectively. All the countries in the Gulf, with the exception of Saudi Arabia, moved down the Employee Confidence Index (ECI), most notably by 6.6 points in Qatar and 4.9 in Bahrain. Kuwait moved down the index by 3.5 points. In contrast, Saudi Arabia showed improvement of 0.6 points. ECI 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. Algeria was the country that noted the highest improvement, moving up the index by 7.2 points, despite a considerable drop in the last wave. __
