Of Confidence

Of Confidence

In the early days of the credit crunch diary, I referred to the esoteric factor of confidence as the most important ingredient in getting things going again and likened it to “culture” overlaying the performance of a corporate body.

Market research company Nielsen has published its latest survey on consumer confidence showing the highest level for eighteen months. Specifically, sentiment about personal finances has improved a little and attitudes to spending on discretionary items are more positive. Overall the consumer confidence index rose to 75 in October being a 10 point gain on the all-time low registered in April 09.

Significantly, 20% of people now believe job prospects in the UK will be “good” or “excellent” over the next twelve months compared with 14% in June 09. Adding some mollification, the British Retail Consortium’s (BRC) director general, Stephen Robertson said “There’s no question the general mood of customers is better than a year ago when conditions were dire, but improvements have been slow so far. Half of consumers believe we’ll still be in recession in a year’s time. More than half are worried about jobs and their own finances and that will hold back full scale recovery well into next year.”

One other aspect of aftermath is worth noting since it is definitely a factor in my family. People still in employment are working harder and there has been an increase in people feeling their work-life balance is their biggest concern (9% compared with 4% a year ago.)

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Derbyshire Born - My journey from Farm Boy To Financier.