Worries about the economy and rising unemployment have sent consumer confidence plummeting in the West Midlands, according to a survey.
The rising cost of running a home is also contributing to the region’s gloomy outlook, Nationwide Building Society’s latest quarterly consumer confidence report said.
Its consumer confidence index fell by 14 points to 63 in the second quarter of the year and is now lower than the national average of 64.
Confidence about the current economic situation has fallen further and is now lower than the UK average of 14 per cent. Only one in ten (11 per cent) people in the West Midlands are upbeat, making it one of the least confident regions in the UK.
Looking ahead fails to yield much of a brighter picture, as just one in eight (12 per cent) are confident about the future economic situation.
Nearly half (48 per ent) of consumers in the region are positive about current job availability, but confidence in the employment market fell by four points for the second consecutive quarter.
In the West Midlands one in six (15 per cent) of those questioned said they were confident that now is the right time to make a major purchase, again below the national figure of 16 per cent. such a purchase.
Nationwide spokesman Steve Cowdry said: “Consumer confidence fell still further during the second quarter of 2008, with the Nationwide Consumer Confidence Index falling 15 points.
“Weakening confidence is perhaps not surprising given the continuing uncertainty in the economy and the additional pressure on households from increased food and fuel costs.
“Consumers in Scotland, East England, London, the South East and the South West remain the most resilient to these forces, while confidence has deteriorated sharply across Wales, Northern Ireland and the East Midlands.”
