Malaysians more optimistic about jobs and economy

PETALING JAYA: Despite the increasing cost of living, especially with fuel price hikes, there has been a rebound in Malaysian consumer confidence in the second quarter of this year. Nielsen's latest online consumer survey showed that the consumer confidence level here was at its highest since the third quarter of 2006. Malaysia is ranked fourth in the Consumer Confidence Index among 56 countries surveyed, sharing the spot with United Arab Emirates. The latest CCI showed that Malaysia bounced back by five points to 110 in the second quarter of this year. At the top of the list is India (126 points), followed by the Philippines (115) and Indonesia (112). The online survey also showed increased optimism a mong Malaysians towards job prospects due to favourable labour market conditions; and the state of personal finances in the next 12 months. Seventy-seven per cent of the respondents described their job prospects as excellent' or good', up by 5 percentage p oints. Two-thirds of online respondents rated their state of personal finance as excellent' or good' compared to 60% previously. Confidence levels remain positive in line with the country's economic progress, supported by increases in both Government spen ding and private sector investments under the Economic Transformation Programme, as well as the private consumption, Nielsen Malaysia managing director Kow Kuan Hua said yesterday. Consumers also listed the economy, fuel price hikes, increasing food prices, debt and worklife balance as their top five major concerns over the next six months with 18% of the respondents listing the economy as their number one worry compared to 14% in the first quarter. The price hikes in subsidised items and the electricity tariff remain at the heart of the issue for Malaysians, Kow said. The survey also showed that Malaysians use their spare cash to save (62% of respondents), pay off debts and credit card loans (42%), go on holidays (35%) and invest in shares or mutual funds (32%). The survey, conducted between May 20 and June 7, polled mo re than 31,000 online consumers in 56 countries across the globe.