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Residents expect business conditions to improve in six months, finds survey

Around 50 per cent of UAE respondents expect their country's economy to improve in the next six months, a study has found.
In a recent survey, the 'Middle East Consumer Confidence Index', only 28 per cent of respondents in the UAE believe that their country's economy has improved compared to six months earlier, while 27 per cent claim that it has remained the same. 31 per cent of respondents in the UAE believe that their country's economy is worse today compared to six months ago.
In terms of business conditions, 39 per cent of UAE respondents believe that business conditions are presently good. Conversely, 36 per cent believe that conditions are average, while 22 per cent believe that they are bad. Regarding expectations for business conditions in a year's time, 65 per cent of UAE respondents are optimistic. 17 per cent expect the situation to remain unaltered, while only seven per cent are not confident at all, stating that the business conditions have the potential to get worse.
When it comes to job availability, 25 per cent state that there are few jobs available across few industries, while a quarter of respondents believe there are few jobs available across various industries. About 15 per cent of UAE respondents claim that there are plenty of jobs available but across a few industries only, while 21 per cent state that there are plenty of jobs available across a wide variety of industries.
When it comes to future availability of jobs, a general positive outlook prevails amongst Mena consumers, where 16 per cent of the respondents believe there will be a decrease of jobs available in their country over the next six months, and 32 per cent state that the availability won't change. However, 37 per cent are still positive about this, stating that job availability will increase. More than 1 in 4 respondents believe that their current financial position is better now than it was six months ago, while 39 per cent believe that it has remained the same. On a positive note, almost half of UAE respondents expect their financial situation to improve in the next six months, while 28 per cent say that it will remain the same.
Considering the opinions on the future cost of living, the majority of respondents expect the cost of living to increase in the next six months. On the other hand, only eight per cent of them expect it to decrease. When asked about the situation of their current savings compared to last year's, 16 per cent of the UAE respondents claim that their savings have increased, while 30 per cent claim that savings have remained the same. 46 per cent, however, believe that their savings have decreased in the same period.
- business@khaleejtimes.com