Jordan’s consumers optimistic about the future of the country’s business conditions

Jordan’s job seekers are feeling optimistic about the future, as per the latest figures released by the Middle Bayt.com in conjunction with research specialists YouGov, with 35% of respondents believing the country’s economy will be better in a year’s time and 38% of them stating business conditions will as well be better in the next 12 months.

The study asked the respondents about their personal financial situation, and whether - since 12 months ago - they feel that they are better, or worse off. Across the region, a quarter of respondents felt they were better off; 34% felt they were worse off, and 33% felt no change in their financial position. KSA (28%), Qatar and Bahrain (27% each) recorded significant improvements vis-a-vis personal financial position - with respondents stating that they were better off. In Jordan, 44% of respondents stated their financial situation has gotten worse over the past year.

When asked about consumer spending, the majority of respondents across the region stated they felt it is not a good time to buy durable goods such as televisions, refrigerators or property, (43%), compared to 20% who do feel it is a good time to buy such goods.

In terms of respondents’ optimism for the future, overall, 44% believed that their financial position would be better in a year’s time; with just 9% of respondents believing that it will be worse. In Jordan, 42% of all respondents believe their personal finances will get better, compared to 11% that believe they may get worse, and 16% believing they will stay the same.

What’s more, over a third of the region’s respondents - 37% - believed that their country’s economy would improve in a year’s time, compared to the 23% who stated that it would worsen. Most positive about economic improvements in their country were respondents in Kuwait with 45% agreeing that things would get better in a year, closely followed by Saudi Arabia’s respondents at 44%. In Jordan, respondents were divided over how they think their economy will perform in a year’s time: 35% of respondents believed it will be better, 26% believe it will become worse, while 19% believe the status quo will prevail.

When asked about whether or not respondents felt more jobs would be available in a year’s time, most optimistic about the future availability of jobs at 35% was Kuwait. In Jordan, nearly a quarter - 23%, believed that more jobs would be available in a year, 26% believed availability of work would remain the same and 35% stated it will get worse.