CAIRO: The global recession has diminished Egyptian individuals’ confidence in their financial situation and limited their spending habits, according to a recent survey of the Arab world conducted by the job search site Bayt.com and British market research company YouGov.
Despite fewer repercussions in Egypt and many of the Arab states in comparison with some Western nations, “Surviving the Recession found that individuals have not felt immune.
“It seems the trend of being more price-conscious looks set to continue, at least in the short-term, Nassim Ghrayeb, CEO of YouGov in the MENA region, said in the study’s press release. “What we are witnessing is that the effects of the recession are permeating into people’s lives.
In Egypt, 25 percent of those surveyed said they have cut down on expenses – with entertainment most likely to be slashed from their budget – while overwhelmingly citing the recession or job loss in the household as their reason.
Egyptians experienced one of the greatest falls in confidence among the Arab nations. Before the recession, 37 percent of respondents felt better off than their peers. Only 24 percent of respondents said the same during the recession.
And even among the 8 percent who expressed improvement, a plurality said it was only because they were better off than their peers.
The study focused predominantly on Egypt and the Gulf States, though Egypt was the dominant nationality.
Job loss was most prevalent in responses from the United Arab Emirates, where 14 percent of respondents said they have sent their families home.
But Egyptians continue to find work abroad. Thirty-five percent of Egyptian respondents said they have found work in a different country from their family.
Egyptians said that the effects of the global recession have extended to their personal well-being. More than a quarter of Egyptians said they have experienced stress or health-related problems as a result of the economic crisis.
Tellingly, a slight majority of Egyptians said they would not accept a job with lower pay, reflecting a subtle optimism in future opportunities.
But Cairo University Economics Professor Alia El-Mahdy was less confident in stable wages if the domestic economy were hit harder by the global recession. She said that under such conditions, the options will be lower wages or no job at all. “They’ll have to accept lower wages, she said.
El-Mahdy emphasized that Egypt has not been affected as Western nations or some regions in the gulf. With a growth rate that has not fallen below 4 percent, Egypt has not witnessed the recession prevalent elsewhere.
“Until now, I cannot say that we have not had the same kind of recession that is abroad, she said.
El-Mahdy said that definitive data on the effects of the recession will be available by the end of 2009. “Let’s wait and see, she said.
“Surviving the Recession was conducted between May 26 and June 28 with 12,908 respondents from across the Arab world. Organizers believe the results will benefit employers dealing with a recession-torn community.
The survey serves as “a very plain insight into how the recession is being played out on a grassroots level, said Ghrayeb.
