Dubai consumers optimistic about improvement of living conditions, says DED report

Dubai: Dubai's consumers are optimistic about the better job opportunity in the coming 12 months, according to the quarterly consumer confidence survey conducted by the Department of Economic Development (DED) during the third quarter of 2013. While 83 per cent of the respondents rated current job prospects as excellent or good, 84 per cent showed strong confidence in the living conditions. More consumers see the state of economy improving in the next 12 months, while the percentage of those who believe that the Dubai economy is still under the impact of recession has decreased to 17 per cent from 23 per cent compared to Q2 2013. A major driver of the growing optimism is the tourism boom and the increase in rentals and property prices across Dubai. Conducted in each quarter, the survey gathers feedbacks from 2,000 respondents, equally divided between the four quarters of the year. The respondents come from all major residential communities across Dubai and cover males and females as well as nationals and expatriates, aged 18 to 59. – Emirates News Agency, WAM