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CONSUMER confidence here improved in the second quarter, as worries over job security and the economy faded, the latest Nielsen Global Consumer Confidence Survey shows.
Singapore's consumer confidence index - as measured by a June poll of 500 online consumers - rose to 87, from an all-time low of 80 recorded in March.
Job security and the economy remained people's top concerns over the next six months, but worries have eased. 40 per cent of respondents cited these as their chief concerns in June, compared with close to 50 per cent back in March.
The latest survey also found that 79 per cent of respondents think Singapore is in recession, down from 91 per cent in March. Of those who think so, there was increased optimism about recovery. 39 per cent were confident that the recession will be over in the next year, versus only 28 per cent back in March.
Singapore emerged from a technical recession - defined as two consecutive quarters of negative growth - in the second quarter, with GDP surging 20.7 per cent from Q1.
Globally, the June survey of over 14,000 consumers across 28 markets showed similar improvement in consumer sentiment. The global index rose five points from March, to 82 in June.
This was spurred in particular by renewed consumer optimism and stockmarket gains in the emerging BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) markets, as well as other key Asian economies.
The managing director of the Nielsen Company's consumer group for Malaysia and Singapore, Paul Richmond, said that to a greater extent than in other regions, stock markets in Asia have rallied and property prices are picking up. 'Consumers in the emerging and Asian markets are clearly of the view that they are driving in the recovery lane now,' he said.
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