Subscribe in a reader | Subscribe by Email Wow! We rank fourth in the world in terms of job prospects. Not sure if Malaysians thinking about jobs in the country or overseas. Probably a mix of both.
But then, the Wellness report says 83% of Malaysians consider themselves as suffering or struggling! Hmm…
Probably we are optimistic about getting jobs, but still worried about economy, cost of living, politics, health, environment, education, crime rates, and so on.
Malaysians are among the most upbeat in the world in terms of their employment outlook and ranked as the fourth most optimistic in the world over their job prospects in a Nielsen survey released today.
Malaysia surged to the fourth place globally in the first quarter of this year from sixth in the fourth quarter of 2010 in terms of consumer optimism about their job prospects.
Seventy-two per cent of online respondents in the survey described their job prospects as excellent or good over the next 12 months, compared to 70 per cent in the previous quarter. Across the Asia Pacific region, the average was 66 per cent.
Malaysia came in ahead of Switzerland in fifth place but behind top ranked India as well as Singapore and Saudi Arabia which were second and third most optimistic respectively.
“The positive response mirrored the good news on Malaysian exports which hit a record of RM64.1billion in March 2011, driven by the growth of shipments of goods including electrical and electronics as well as commodities — refined petroleum products and palm oil,” said Nielsen in a media release.
Malaysians fared less well, however, in terms of optimism over the economic outlook, coming in ninth and also expressed concern over their personal finances.
More than half — 55 per cent of online consumers surveyed — felt that the nation is not in an economic recession, compared to 49 per cent a quarter ago. About a third, or 27 per cent, of respondents believed the country is still in recession and anticipated that the recession would last for another 12 months.
“Malaysian consumers seemed concerned that inflationary pressures, rising food and fuel prices and potential interest rate hikes would reduce their disposable incomes,” said Nielsen.
The Nielsen survey also showed that Malaysia ranked second (41 per cent of online consumers) and sixth (33 per cent) globally when it comes to paying off debts/credit cards/loans and investing in shares/mutual funds respectively.
The survey was conducted by global information and measurement company Nielsen and was conducted between March 23 and April 12, 2011 and polled more than 28,000 consumers in 51 countries throughout Asia Pacific, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, Africa and North America.
