25% of Respondents in Lebanon Expect Business Conditions to Get Better in a Year’s Time, According to Bayt.com and YouGov Survey

22% believe that their personal financial situation will improve in the next six months

22% of respondents in Lebanon have a positive outlook on the future of the country’s economy according to the most recent Bayt.com Middle East and North Africa Consumer Confidence Index survey, which was conducted by Bayt.com, the Middle East’s number one job site, and YouGov, a leading market research agency.

Country’s Economic Situation

7% of Lebanon respondents believe that business conditions are either ‘good’ or ‘very good’, while 41% believe that business conditions are ‘bad’. However, a quarter of respondents (25%) are largely optimistic about the future, expecting business conditions to ‘get better’ in a year’s time.

 Only 3% of Lebanon respondents believe that the country’s economy has ‘improved’ in the last six months, while two thirds of respondents (66%) feel that it has ‘receded’. 8% of the respondents expect the economy to improve in the next six months.

Personal Economic Situation

According to 45% of poll respondents in Lebanon, their financial situation is the ‘same as six months ago’ (9% say it is ‘better’ than it was six months ago, while 43% claim that it is ‘worse’). The outlook is somewhat positive though: 22% believe that their personal financial situation will ‘improve’ in the next six months. When it comes to the cost of living in the next six months, 62% of respondents expect it to increase, while 30% expect the cost of living to ‘remain the same’.

 64% of Lebanon respondents say that their savings have ‘decreased’ when compared to last year. 8% of respondents claim that their savings have ‘increased’, while more than a quarter (26%) reveal that their savings have ‘remained the same’.

Consumer Spending in Lebanon

22% of those surveyed in Lebanon are planning to invest in a motor vehicle in the next 12 months. Of those, 31% are planning to buy a new vehicle, while 41% are planning to buy a used one. 69% of Lebanon respondents are not planning on purchasing a vehicle.

 When it comes to investing in property, 13% of respondents in Lebanon are planning to invest in the next 12 months. Of those who are planning to buy property, 74% will invest in an ‘apartment’ and 17% will purchase ‘commercial property’. 43% of the respondents who are planning to invest in property in Lebanon plan to buy new property in the next 12 months, while 17% will invest in pre-owned property.

Regarding consumer goods, 17% of respondents in Lebanon plan to purchase a ‘desktop or laptop’ in the next six months, and 17% will invest in ’furniture’. 11% are planning to buy a ‘tablet or smartphone’ over the same period. An ‘LCD or Plasma TV’ (6%), air conditioner (6%) and washing machine (5%) are also among the respondents’ list of priorities this year.

Current Job Perspective in Lebanon

Presently, only 6% of respondents surveyed believe that there are plenty of jobs available in Lebanon, with 1% claiming availability across multiple industries and 5% claiming availability across a limited number of industries. 6% of respondents in Lebanon expect the job availability to ‘increase’ in the next six months.

 14% of employed respondents feel that the number of employees in their companies over the past six months has ‘increased’, while 35% believe the opposite to be true. Over the course of the next six months, 20% of employed Lebanon respondents expect the number of employees in their organization to ‘increase’.

 With regards to satisfaction levels, 30% of employed Lebanon respondents are ‘satisfied’ with career growth opportunities, and 19% are satisfied with their current compensation. On the other hand, 62% are dissatisfied with their current salary and allowances. When it comes to non-monetary benefits, 32% of employed Lebanon respondents are satisfied, while 45% feel the opposite. 32% of respondents employed in Lebanon feel secure in their jobs.

 “While the region as a whole has seen a relative dip in consumer confidence, future expectations amongst respondents remain positive and bright,” said Suhail Masri, VP of Employer Solutions, Bayt.com. “At Bayt.com there are currently more than 10,000 jobs posted on the website on any given day. This augments the tremendous amount of recruitment that takes place via the Bayt.com CV Search functionality for employers who prefer not to immediately advertise their pressing job vacancies, which recruiters can try for free on www.bayt.com/en/search-cv/.  Jobseeker registration on our website is growing at over 12,000 new professionals a day and continues to reflect a healthy appetite for jobs across the industrial and career spectrum. In an extra-competitive job market though, we advise professionals to enhance their visibility to employers by creating online profiles on Bayt.com and increasing their visibility on popular search engines. At Bayt.com, we always endeavor to empower the region’s job seekers and employers by providing them with the latest technology and most relevant tools and market insights related to recruitment.”

 Elissavet Vraka, Research Manager, YouGov, said: “Gauging consumer opinion is a powerful tool for revealing the current attitudes and sentiments about the business and economic conditions in a specific country. Despite the positive outlook on the future, the rising cost of living is negatively impacting residents’ ability to save.”

 Data for the Bayt.com Middle East and North Africa Consumer Confidence Index survey was collected online from January 27 to February 10, 2016, with 3,905 respondents from the UAE, KSA, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria. Males and females aged 18 years old and above, of all nationalities, were included in the survey.