Singapore – Consumer confidence in Singapore has plummeted to a record new low in the past six months, falling a significant 12 index points down from 92 to 80, according to the latest twice-yearly Nielsen Global Consumer Confidence Index which tracks consumer confidence, major concerns and spending habits among 25,420 internet users in 50 countries. This is Singapore’s third consecutive decline from its all time high of 114 recorded in late 2007. Indonesia topped Nielsen’s Global Consumer Confidence Index at 104 points, followed by Denmark (102 points) and India (99 points). The world’s most pessimistic nations in the Nielsen Index are South Korea (31 points), followed by Portugal and Latvia at 48 Index points. Confidence fell in 48 out of 491 countries – Taiwan was the only country to buck the global trend, edging up three index points from 60 to 63, although still 14 points below the global average. While global consumer confidence plunged to a new low, fears of unemployment and job uncertainty reached new heights. Job security was cited as the leading concern among internet consumers in 31 of 50 countries surveyed. Global concern for job security rose to 22 percent globally from nine percent in the latest round of the survey. Consumers who cited job security as their top concern in life today include China (29%), Hong Kong (33%), India (29%), Vietnam (36%), Italy (24%), Spain (34%), Hungary (31%) and Mexico (29%). Three-quarters of Asia Pacific consumers are having a skeptical job outlook, with the most pessimistic of the lot coming from the Koreans (95%), Hong Kongers (94%) and Japanese (91%) – where over nine in 10 felt that their local job prospects in the next year were either not so good or bad.