Kiwis show thrift in case they lose jobs

The recession has driven more New Zealanders to save as they worry about future job prospects.

The Nielsen Consumer Confidence Survey, which questioned 500, found job confidence has slumped in the past six months - 71 per cent thought local job prospects in the next year looked bad or not so good, compared to 38 per cent six months ago.

Job security was also cited as the number one concern for consumers over the next six months - significant because at the last survey only 6 per cent voted that way.

Consumer research executive director Susanna Baggaley said as interest rates fell more people were interested in saving their money rather than reducing debt. Almost half, 47 per cent, said they were putting any spare cash into savings, compared to 38 per cent who were using the cash to pay off debts, credit cards and loans.

"You can relate [savings] to the job security issue. [Consumers] are a bit more concerned about what is going to happen next, so they're perhaps thinking more about saving than putting money into debt."

The economy is consumers' second biggest concern, with 18 per cent ranking it their number one issue followed by debt, 11 per cent.

Conducted in March and April, the survey also saw Nielsen's consumer confidence index, which has a top value of 200, fall to 90, the lowest score since it started in 2005. Anything below 100 is considered negative.

Despite the drop, confidence levels were still strong compared to many other countries, New Zealand was ranked ninth overall out of 50 countries surveyed, sitting 13 points higher than the global index.

Although there was concern about the job market, that worry did not transfer through to how consumers felt about their finances - 52 per cent think the state of their personal finances over the next year will be excellent or good compared to 41 per cent globally.

Ms Baggaley said the whole picture taken together read like consumers were in a holding pattern. "A lot of what is happening at the moment is a caution thing. As soon as the global situation starts to show an improvement, people will start to feel more positive and start to spend again."