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 leading market research agency, YouGov, has shown that despite respondents expecting economies and job opportunities across MENA to grow in the foreseeable future, they are still concerned about the rising cost of living.
Personal Economic Situation
21% of MENA residents consider their personal financial situation to be better now than it was6 months ago – though42% consider it to be the same, while30% state that things have declined for them. Expectations for the future are positive, however, with41% believing their personal financial situation will improve in the next6 months. Despite this,78% anticipate the cost of living in their country of residence to increase within the same time, and52% state that, in comparison to last year, their savings have decreased.
A third (34%) of MENA residents are considering buying a vehicle in the next12 months, with48% looking to buy a used car for personal used, as opposed to46% considering a new car purchase.26% are considering purchasing property, of which48% will purchase an apartment. More than half (56%) will buy new property.
In the next6 months, MENA consumers are looking to buy desktop or laptop computers (26%), furniture (21%), and LCD or Plasma TVs (16%).
The MENA’s Economic Situation
Economies across MENA have improved in the last6 months, according to27% of respondents, however according to another27%, things have declined.42%, however, anticipate brighter days to come with an improved economy in the coming6 months. According to35%, business conditions in MENA are currently either good or very good, with better times to come, as stated by54%.
Despite the high expectations,52% of MENA respondents believe that there are currently few jobs available. This situation is expected to change, however, with35% anticipating that the number of jobs in their country of residence will increase in the coming6 months.
Current Job Perspective
According to35% of MENA respondents, they have more employees in their company now than they did6 months ago, and39% expect there to be more employees hired in the next6 months. Satisfaction with careers across MENA is relatively high:43% are happy with their currently career growth opportunities;33% are happy with their current compensation;44% are satisfied with their non-monetary benefits, and43% are satisfied with their level of job security.
“On the whole, the outlook for the region is a good one. Things are certainly improving with more and more major projects materializing across the MENA region, such as the upcoming World Cup in Qatar and Expo2020 in Dubai,” said Suhail Al-Masri, VP of Sales, Bayt.com. “These projects are generating more job opportunities, which is a boom for the region. They are, however, also driving up costs which is why savings are dwindling and respondents are expecting a higher cost of living in the future. Employers must take this into consideration when hiring new employees.”
Silviu Matei, Director, YouGov, said: “An interesting point to note is that despite the fact that most people in the MENA region consider their personal financial situation to have either improved or stayed the same, a large proportion state that their savings have decreased. Despite high levels of confidence in the market, rising prices seem to negatively impact residents’ savings.”
Data for the YouGov and Bayt.com Middle East and North Africa Consumer Confidence Index Survey for August2014 was collected online from August5-19,2014, amongst5,075 respondents aged18 years and above. Respondents were from the UAE, KSA, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia.