Pessimism surrounds jobs, finances; consumer confidence continues downward trend in September

Amid a pessimism around personal spending and finances, investments for the future and loss of jobs, consumer confidence has further slipped in September. The consumer confidence of Indians slipped by 0.6 per cent, which fell by 3.1 per cent in August, according to a survey. Meanwhile, the confidence in the economy has shown recovery with an uptick of 1.4 per cent. The Thomson Reuters – Ipsos report expects some cheer and optimism in October, taking cues from the cut in corporate tax and fiscal stimuli by the government. The downward trend in confidence has been continued since May, except for a slight improvement in July 2019.

The survey is based on the response in four major categories — jobs, expectations, investment, and current conditions. Ironically, three of the above categories showed a downward trend in the month. The confidence of Indians on the condition of jobs fell by 1 per cent, the confidence on current investments slide down by 1.9 per cent, confidence on investments fell by 1.2 per cent , while the confidence on economic expectations surged by 1.4 per cent, over the last month.

“It is clear, there is a slowdown and Indians are impacted. Since May this year, consumers have been less confident month-on-month, about finances, investment, and jobs,” said Parijat Chakraborty, Country Service Line Leader, Public Affairs & Corporate Reputation, Ipsos India. The recent reduction in corporate tax and early spirit of festivals would arrest the downward spiral and boost the sentiment upward, he added.

The growth of India’s economy has slowed down due to lack of demand and investment in the domestic market. Adding to it, the weak global sentiments have also coupled with India’s domestic problems. However, the government has recently announced a slew of measures that could add some cushion to the economy. Among the recent measures announced by the government, the cut in corporate tax added significant cheer among the traders.

[“source=financialexpress”]