Taiwanese consumers are more positive about the economy and employment over the coming six months than they were six months earlier, bucking the trend for most other markets in the Asia-Pacific region, a survey by MasterCard Worldwide showed.
The nation’s consumer confidence index rose to 67.6 points from the reading of 62.5 six months ago, lifting its ranking to sixth place from the previous ninth in the region’s 14 markets, the biannual international survey said.
A reading of more than 50 indicates optimism, while a score below this threshold signifies pessimistic sentiment, MasterCard Worldwide said.
The company polled 10,374 consumers across the region from March 15 to April 27 by Internet, telephone and questionnaire.
In Taiwan, the employment sub-index climbed to 71.3 points, from 62.4, suggesting respondents expect to see improvement in the job market in the second half of the year, the report said.
The survey came before the government is due to unveil June’s jobless data today, after unemployment dropped to a 31-month low of 4.27 percent in May.
The economy sub-index stood at 67.2 versus 65.3, as major economic barometers tend to post stronger performance in the second half than in the first half, the survey report said.
Expectations of a stable economy brightened the outlook for regular income and the stock market, with the sub-indexes advancing to 71.9 and 70.6, from 61.9 and 65.4 respectively, the report showed.
In Asia-Pacific, Taiwan’s overall consumer confidence level is lower than China’s 78.3, Hong Kong’s 69.9 and Singapore’s 77.9, the survey found.
However, all three economies saw their performance easing from six months earlier.
The overall consumer confidence index for the Asia-Pacific region dropped to 61.5 from 68, the survey found.
“While consumer attitudes remain positive, there is clearly a perception that the recovery from the financial crisis is not going as smoothly as people would like,” said Yuwa Hedrick-Wong (王月魂), global economic advisor for MasterCard Worldwide.
The correction came as no surprise as parts of the world endured six months grappling with natural disasters, political instability and ongoing financial uncertainty across the eurozone, he said.
Japan and New Zealand, both still recovering from powerful earthquakes this year, experienced declines in consumer confidence with overall indexes falling to 15.9 and 42.2 respectively, the report said.
Steep drops in consumer confidence were seen in the Philippines, where optimism fell from 80.1 to 53.6 in the past six months, while in Thailand it dropped below the neutral mark from 57.3 to 46.1, the survey found.
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