New Zealand consumers are more sanguine about economic prospects than their Australian counterparts according to MasterCard.

The latest MasterCard consumer confidence index reveals that Kiwis’ cheery outlook spans the following five areas covered by the survey, namely economy, employment, regular income, stock market performance and quality of life.

The MasterCard index score is ranked from 0 to 100, with 0 indicating the most negative score and 100 the most positive score.

Australian confidence was ranked at 39.5 on the index behind NZ’s score of 57.7.

The increase in buoyancy was particularly evident among Auckland residents, men and younger groups.

The biggest divide between NZ and Australia was a 27.7 point difference in employment.

MasterCard NZ country manager, Peter Chisnall, says the results, combined with NZ’s steady unemployment rate, show Kiwis are more secure about the performance of their economy compared to Australia.

He said confidence in employment and their earnings is significant as it is the difference between people saving and spending.

While NZ was ahead of Australia, it was below the Asia-Pacific index average of 66.1.

The country ranked in 12th place out of 18 surveyed, with Australia at the bottom.

The survey took place between May and June, and involved 8718 adult respondents across the region.

MasterCard’s consumer confidence index, which takes place twice a year, began in the first half of 1993.