Indians' optimism over their job prospects in the next 12 months has declined in the last quarter of 2011 although they are the most confident compared to global peers, according to a report by global information and insights provider Nielsen.
The latest global consumer confidence findings for the fourth quarter in 2011 by Nielsen that polled more than 28,000 online consumers in 56 countries, pointed out that Indians' optimism over their job prospects dipped to 78% in the fourth quarter of 2011 from 81% in the previous quarter.
Notwithstanding the decline, Indians still topped the most confident chart on job prospects, followed by Indonesia (72%), the Philippines (72%), Brazil (71%) and China (68%), it said.
"Though Indians remain optimistic about their jobs, levels of optimism have dropped, not surprisingly since macro- economic indicators point towards an overall slowdown of the economy," Nielsen India Managing Director Justin Sargent said in a statement.
The equity markets have been weak and the currency has been devalued considerably, adding to the worries of the Indian consumer, he added.
The report further said 76% of Indian respondents are confident about the state of their personal finances compared to 77% in the previous quarter.
Indonesia continues to lead this scale with 83%, followed by the Philippines at 82% and Brazil with 80%. Indian optimism over their personal finances was at 80% in Q2, 2011, it added.
Yet, when it comes to overall consumer confidence levels, Indians continue to be the most confident, for the eight consecutive quarter across the globe, rising one index point in the fourth quarter over the previous year.
"The stabilisation of India's consumer confidence metric is encouraging and the retention of the top spot globally reminds us of the inherent strength of the Indian economy, the savings mindset of the Indian consumer," Sargent said.