Confidence edges up from record low

FINANCIAL confidence has rebounded slightly from an all-time low last year, most notably among Dubliners and most age categories of men, a Standard Life survey reveals.

Dubliners remain the most financially secure regional group, with a score of 55.7%, up from 52.3% in October. Munster is again the second most confident region on 52.5%, followed by Connaught at 51.7%.

The Rest of Leinster, a group which excludes Dublin, is the least confident with just 50.4%.

The insurance company’s latest Financial Confidence Index has crept up to 52.2% confidence levels from its October 2010 rock bottom of 51.1%. Now in its fourth year, this survey of 1,000 adults peaked at 66.7% in March 2008.

Standard Life head of marketing Brendan Barr said: “That’s a respectable increase in the index and may surprise some, given that we measured it after one of the toughest budgets in history. Maybe the IMF bailout has created more certainty in people’s minds, that we are finding a resolution to our difficult financial situation.”

The biggest confidence increase was among those aged 25 to 34, followed by those in the 55 to 64 category. As in previous surveys, men in general continue to be more confident than women, scoring 55.6% and 49.9% respectively on average.

On the down side, the “non-working” and “retired” categories also experienced their lowest score since the study began. Those aged 35 to 44 experienced the largest fall in confidence, from 48.6% to 47.3%.

Mr Barr said: “It’s probably not surprising that this age group suffered the largest confidence drop as they are most sensitive to childcare, education and mortgage costs. Budget changes to taxation and benefits have hit them particularly hard.”