3 in 10 Singaporeans worry that Singapore is in recession

And 46% say their finances will be hurt in the next 12 months.

According to a survey by Nielsen, In the second quarter of 2012, consumers in Singapore showed lower confidence levels in the economy, with 31 percent indicating they believe the country is in recession, up 4 percentage points from Q1 2012. Among those who believe the country is in recession, 29 percent think the economy will recover over the next 12 months. Eighteen percent of respondents indicated their top concern is the economy, unchanged from the previous quarter.

Almost 1 in 2 Singaporeans (46%) say their personal finances in the next 12 months would be “not so good or bad”, up two percentage points from the previous quarter.

Reflecting a lingering cautious sentiment, 62 percent of consumers in Singapore changed their spending habits to save on household expenses, unchanged from the last quarter. The top 5 areas consumers cut-back on during Q2 were:

• Spending less on new clothes (58%)
• Saving on gas and electricity (47%)
• Delaying technology upgrades (43%)
• Cutting down on out-of-home entertainment (45%)
• Switching to cheaper grocery brands (44%)