Indonesian consumer confidence fell to its lowest level in eight months in February on concerns over job prospects, a central bank survey showed on Monday. The consumer confidence index, based on a survey of 4,650 households from 18 cities, fell to 92.4 in February from 94.6 in January.
The February index is the lowest since June last year when it was 91.1. A reading below 100 means a majority of consumers are pessimistic about the future. The index showed a brief burst of optimism when it rose to 101.6 in November, the highest in more than a year, but has fallen steadily since.
"Consumers are more pessimistic about job availability because economic conditions appear to have worsened. (They) also see fewer projects constructed by the government and the private sector," the central bank said on its Web site (www.bi.go.id).
The central bank did not elaborate. An economist said consumers had grown more pessimistic because there were few signs that more jobs were being created despite a sharp fall in interest rates. "I think the optimism we saw last November reflected people's hope that this year there would be a private-sector recovery," economist Juniman, from Bank Internasional Indonesia, said. "But as the months pass and still no changes are seen, people are starting to think that the economy is no different from last year. So they become more pessimistic."
The unemployment rate in Indonesia stood at 10.28 percent as of August 2006, while the underemployment rate, measuring the number of people who work less than 35 hours a week, was around 30 percent.