The latest results from the survey carried out by Bayt.com, the Middle East’s number one job site, and research and consulting organisation, YouGov, shows that Jordan residents still have a positive outlook of the country’s economy, as well as their financial future despite the dip in the consumer confidence. The survey revealed that73% feel that the current salary is not in line with the cost of living, with50% stating buying consumer durables is not practical in the present situation.
Prospects for the future appear quite positive from Jordan survey takers, with40% believing that their financial position will improve in a year’s time, while14% claim it will stay the same and only11% believe it will get worse. In parallel,37% of Jordan respondents expect that the country’s economy will get better within the same time frame. However, this claim won’t essentially mean an increase in the number of jobs. Only26% of Jordan respondents think there will be more jobs available in a year’s time, while58% feel there will be either no change or fewer jobs.
Similarly,30% seem pessimistic towards the possibility of increase in their organisation’s employee-count in the coming quarter, while only20% feel the opposite and believe that there will be a positive growth, and a good30% share a neutral outlook on the same. Likewise, companies addressing staffing requirements in the coming three months show that32% of Jordan survey takers are neutral, with19% who seem optimistic and30% appear quite pessimistic.
With regards to the respondents’ present financial situation in Jordan,34% have experienced no change, and the situation is worse for42% of survey-takers, while only19% have had an improved financial position in comparison to the previous year. The survey’s respondents also remain doubtful on the current attitude towards purchasing of consumer durable goods, with half of Jordan respondents (50%) saying ‘now is a bad time to buy’. Only14% believe that this is a good time to buy, while28% stay neutral. Additionally, with70% of Jordan residents opting to shy away from investments in property and57% from purchasing a car in the next12 months, only a mere13% will look into investing in properties and26% in a car. From those who are willing to do such investments in a year’s time,55% said they will be buying a ‘new’ property and30% a ‘new’ car, while65% said they will opt for a used one.
When it comes to employment, only12% of Jordan respondents appear to be highly satisfied with their career prospects, while30% have neutral sentiments, and43% are displeased. Correspondingly, only15% appear to be highly satisfied with their career growth in their current organisation, while51% seem unhappy and26% are neutral.
Data from the survey shows that feelings towards the level of job security in Jordan are relatively balanced with25% saying they are highly satisfied, while29% have neutral feelings towards their job security; and36% being unsatisfied.
Data for this Bayt.com HR survey was collected online from24th August to20th September2011, with7,864 respondents from the UAE, KSA, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria and Pakistan. Males and females aged over18 years old, of all nationalities, were included in the survey.