“Job security is the biggest concern for UAE consumers.  However, despite uncertainty levels tripling over the last six months, we are still among the top 10 countries with a comparatively higher perception of local job prospects.  More than one in three UAE consumers perceives their prospects as good or excellent over the next 12 months,” said Piyush Mathur, regional managing director, Middle East, North Africa and Pakistan at Nielsen.

In comparison, about a quarter of global consumers described their job prospects as bad in the coming year, with Latvians being particularly pessimistic – 78 percent responded negatively.

“Job concerns reflect in consumer spending habits.  For instance, consumers in the UAE are now tending to keep their spare cash in savings and using it to pay off their debts.  They are controlling discretionary spending, especially on clothing, entertainment outside the home and technology upgrades,” said Mathur.

Consumer confidence has also taken a hit, showing a nine-point drop to 90 since the survey was last conducted in October 2008.  Despite that drop, Kiwis’ confidence is strong compared to other Asia Pacific countries – 12 points higher – and 13 points higher than the global index.  Overall, New Zealand ranked ninth out of the fifty countries Nielsen tracks.

Other concerns to New Zealanders include the economy and personal debt.  Interestingly, a number of issues have become less of a concern over the last six months, including food price increases and the cost of fuel.

Perhaps the most surprising finding from the survey is that 42 percent of those surveyed said it was a good time to buy the things they want and need, up nine points from six months ago and outpacing the global index.

“New Zealanders’ optimism that now is a good time to spend money is perhaps reflective of aggressive discounting and promotional activity being undertaken by retailers, coupled with the Government’s recent tax reductions,” said Susanna Baggaley, Executive Director, Consumer Research for Nielsen New Zealand. “Along with lower interest rates and the reduction in fuel prices, consumers are now beginning to feel they have more money in their pockets.”

Read the full press release on consumer confidence here.

In the past six months, the index has plummeted to a record low 77 points from 84 points. The catalyst: Latin America, Russia and other emerging nations are now feeling the full effects of a recession that began in the United States, officially, in December.

Though consumer anxieties about the economy take many forms, the most widespread fear centers on job loss. For the first time in the Nielsen survey, it was global consumers’ top concern, ranking No. 1 in 31 out of 50 countries surveyed.

Six months ago, only 9 percent of respondents cited job security as their primary worry. Now, nearly a quarter (22 percent) indicated they were more worried about going without a paycheck than over issues like work/life balance and the economy overall.

“With global redundancies affecting every industry, the economy and job security have eclipsed all other concerns in life today,” said James Russo, Vice President of Global Consumer Insights at The Nielsen Company.

Declining confidence has changed spending habits, with 70 percent saying they have taken steps to save on household expenses. Purchases of new clothes and out-of-home entertainment are the biggest casualties, with 56 percent and 53 percent of respondents cutting spending in those areas respectively. Forty-five percent have cut down on takeout meals, and 41 percent have switched to less expensive groceries.

Even when the economy improves, 40 percent will continue to try to save on gas and electricity, down from 45 percent economizing in that area now. And more than 20 percent will continue to look for less expensive groceries, cut down on takeout meals and buy fewer new clothes.

U.S. Confident, But Not as Much as China

In contrast to global worries, the confidence of U.S. consumers dropped only slightly, to a score of 80 from 82 and 83 for the second and first halves of 2008, respectively. (For the sake of reference, overall U.S. consumer confidence indexed at 100 during the second half of 2007.)

The modest U.S. decline may be a harbinger of better times. “We may be at, or at least very near, a bottom in this economic cycle,” Russo said. “Specifically in the U.S., while [consumers are] clearly adjusting their spending and savings, with 40 percent stating they are paying off debts and putting into savings. Americans are increasingly optimistic.”

Indeed, nearly 20 percent of Americans polled predicted an economic recovery within the next 12 months. Internationally, nearly one in five (23 percent) said their countries will emerge from the recession within a year. The Vietnamese and Indians made this prediction most frequently, with response rates of 60 percent and 56 percent, respectively.

Despite consumer confidence falling overall, the survey revealed interesting disparities among respondent nations. Consumers in Indonesia, Denmark and India seemed to be the most optimistic, with confidence ratings of 104, 102 and 99, respectively. Still, 77 percent of those polled across the globe indicated their homelands were in recession, up from 63 percent who said the same thing six months ago. Surprisingly, 65 percent of Chinese respondents denied there was any recession in progress at all.

“While China’s economy has undoubtedly slowed, February retail sales are still 15 percent up on last year and many Chinese consumers now believe the next 12 months could be a good time to go back to investing in stocks and property,” said Chris Morley, managing director, The Nielsen Company China.

Nonetheless, the weight of currency devaluations, weak export markets and falling commodity prices caused emerging markets like Russia (down 29 points to 74), UAE (down 21 points to 89) and Brazil’s (down 15 points to 82) to turn in consumer-confidence figures that had plummeted significantly. Consumers were the most pessimistic in South Korea, with consumer confidence score of 31, Japan (42) and Latvia (48).

Perhaps the survey’s most telling finding was that Latin America has seen its confidence shaken. “Six months ago as developed markets hurtled towards the epicenter of a global recession, Latin America was the world’s most optimistic region,” Russo said. “However, it hasn’t taken long for the tentacles of the global recession to reach them.”

The Nielsen Global Consumer Confidence Index, compiled twice a year, tracks spending habits and concerns among 25,420 Internet users across 50 countries. Respondents were surveyed between March 19 and April 2.

Download the report.