Kiwi men ‘more positive’ about economy

success-growth-business-1New Zealand men are significantly more positive about employment, economy and quality of life than women, according to the latest Mastercard Index of Consumer Confidence.

Mastercard’s biannual survey found that consumer confidence amongst Kiwi men was significantly higher overall at 66.4, compared to a 43.5 rating for women. This 22.9 point gap has widened by 10 since the previous survey was undertaken 6-months ago.

The MICC, which measures a six-month outlook on five economic factors including the economy, employment prospects, regular income prospects, stock market and quality of life, is calculated on a scale of 0 to 100, with zero as the most pessimistic, 100 most optimistic, and 50 as neutral.

The latest survey highlighted that New Zealand men are more confident across all factors including the economy (66.3 vs 34.1), employment (66.3 vs 38.2), quality of life (50.6 vs 33.7) and the stock market (70.5 vs 38.2). The highest levels of confidence, and with the smallest differential, related to confidence around regular income at 78.5 for men and 73.2 for women.

“Our latest research indicates that Kiwi women have a much more cautious outlook on the next six months than their male counterparts,” said  Peter Chisnall, MasterCard country manager for New Zealand and Pacific Islands.

“Men are being much more bullish in their outlook across all factors, however it is positive that all New Zealanders are feeling positive about their regular income opportunities over the next six months. This may be a reflection of an improving labour market and an indication that Kiwis are feeling that they have a good level of job security for the remainder of this year,” he said.

Overall, New Zealand’s overall score in the biannual survey was a stable 55.5, with attitudes to employment bouncing back by 10.7 points, following a 17.5 point drop in the last survey.

“Compared to international trends, New Zealanders are seeing our economic environment as comparatively safe and secure,” said Chisnall. “We are fortunate that we have seen very little unrest locally in recent years from an economic or political perspective, which provides a relatively stable business and social setting.

Compared to Australia, New Zealand is 13.3 points ahead of Australia’s score of 42.2, while in Asia Pacific, most markets remain optimistic with levels of optimism remaining stable at 59.7 Index points compared to 59.7 for the six-month period prior.

New Zealand remains below the Asia-Pacific average, ranked 9th overall, while Australia placed 11th out of the 17 surveyed markets.

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