Personal well-being, consumer confidence indices in Nigeria drop in June

Reversing the upward trend in personal well-being index (PWBI) that began in March this year, last month’s results for the NOIPolls PWBI shows a decline by 1.6-points to stand at 41.4, even as the consumer confidence index (CCI) declined slightly by 1.6-points to stand at 69.5.

The NOIPolls PWBI measures factors impacting on the lives of everyday Nigerians to produce a complete view of the individual’s personal well-being, while the CCI provides consumer assessments of the economic situation and their intentions and expectations for the future.

According to highlights from the June 2013 Portfolio of Indices released on

Tuesday, an analysis of the individual indicators that make up the PWBI shows there were declines in five out of the seven indicators that make up the PWBI, while Junethe remaining two indices, religion and health indices, recorded an increase and stable position, respectively.

Nigerians are most satisfied in terms of religion (86.9), physical health (74.0) and social interaction (73.1), the report said, adding that Nigerians are mostly neutral in terms of achievement in life (52.3), standard of living (47.8) and personal security (47.9).

“Nigerians are least satisfied with their personal economic situation (36.8). This indicator has remained the lowest ranked indicator over the 18-month period since NOIPolls introduced its PWBI in January 2013,” the report said.

Nigerian businesses, financial and government agencies largely depend on their perceptions and micro assessment of consumers’ expectation in making decisions, said NOIPolls, adding that at best, they draw conclusion on the business environment based on information from their immediate surroundings while the minority conducts surveys that are time and money consuming.

However, the introduction of these indices provides indicators that will ensure stakeholders can detect and respond to changes in consumer behaviour, the economy and the business environment in Nigeria, it said.

Similarly, analysis of the two indicators that make up the CCI reveals that the present situation index (PSI) decreased slightly while the expectation index (EI) increased.

The decline in the CCI follows a steady increase observed from the lowest point in March 2014, according to trend analysis of results from January to date.

In spite of the slight decline in the CCI, current results generally indicate that Nigerians feel good about their current personal situation, the economy and remain optimistic about the future, said NOIPolls.

BusinessDay