By Chew Hui Min

The Nielsen Consumer Confidence Index has has risen by nine points, both globally and in Singapore, in the last half year.

The global index jumped to 86 points this month from 77 points; while in Singapore, the index increased from 87 to 96 points.

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The percentage of consumers from Singapore who think the economy is still in recession also fell significantly. Fifty-nine per cent of respondents said the country was still in recession compared to 79 per cent in June this year.

In line with the positive mood, job security has ceased to be the top concern of Singaporeans. They also feel more secure about their personal finances.

Over one in two consumers described local job prospects as good or excellent in the next 12 months - a 19 per cent increase compared to the second quarter.

"Optimism is slowly but surely building up among Singaporeans, as can be seen by the increased confidence registered among consumers." said Paul Richmond, the consumer group managing director of the Nielsen Company in Singapore and Malaysia.

The survey also polled consumers about how they intend to spend their spare cash.

While 66 per cent still intend to put their cash into savings, there is an increased willingness to spend on holidays, technology, entertainment, and investments.

First increase in US since 2007

Brazil and key Asian markets are posting double-digit increases in consumer sentiment, while the US recorded its first increase in consumer confidence since 2007.

Hong Kong posted the largest consumer confidence increase, up 14 points from 79 to 93 index points, followed by South Korea (+13 points) and Brazil (+12 points).

India, Indonesia and Norway continued to top the global rankings for the most confident nations, while the most pessimistic nations were Latvia and Japan.

Consumer confidence fell in only two countries in the third quarter: Spain (-4 points) and Japan (-2 points).

Among other BRIC nations, consumer confidence rose eight points in India, six points in China and four points in Russia compared to the previous quarter.

Job security no longer top concern

Singaporeans are also less concerned about the economy and job security, which were their two key concerns in June.

Thirty-three per cent say that the economy is their first or second biggest concern, compared with 40 per cent before.

Taking second place on Singaporean consumers' list of top concerns is work-life balance, which is now causing anxiety among 30 per cent compared to 17 per cent previously.

Globally, 16 per cent of global consumers named job security as their main concern in life, a drop of four per cent since June.

Issues such as work-life balance and health both increased by three percentage points compared with six months ago, another indication that consumers' obsession with everything economy and recession-related is beginning to subside.

Nielsen's Global Consumer Confidence Index tracks consumer confidence, major concerns and spending habits among more than 30,500 Internet users in 54 countries. Ukraine and Saudi Arabia were added in the latest round of the survey.