Today’s Dubai is looking like a land of opportunities than never before and its residents are confident the job market and economy would perk up even more, despite the turbulence elsewhere in the region.

 The booming tourism industry and real estate market are the major causes for this optimism and the Emiratis are exuding even greater confidence than expatriates.  These are the findings of the consumer confidence survey in the third quarter of 2013, released by the Department of Economic Development (DED) yesterday.

 The survey found a whopping 92 per cent residents saying the job market will be sunnier while 84 per cent remained positive about personal finance.

 “Optimism in the state of the economy and the number of people who believe that Dubai is no more under the impact of a recession are rising,” Omar Khalifa, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of Commercial Compliance and Consumer Protection at DED, told Khaleej Times. “Consumers are confident that Dubai will continue to grow over the next 12 months.

 “Such optimism will in turn support growth.”

 The overall Consumer Confidence Index for July-September 2013 remained constant at 143 points, as in the previous quarter, continuing the positive trend of the last five quarters In the previous quarter, 23 per cent had felt the economy was still under the cloud of recession.

However, their number has now shrunk to 17 per cent.

 Nearly 42 per cent believe they will see an excellent economy during the next 12 months while 73 per cent foresee a strong recovery, up from the 67 per cent in the second quarter.

 Khalifa said the growing cost of living was one of the concerns expressed in the survey. Other concerns were job security, political stability elsewhere in the region, and the balance between work and life.

While the majority of consumers — 86 per cent — are able to cover essential living expenses, families are increasingly aware of the need to put aside something for a rainy day.

 Budgets are being tightened with two-third of the consumers planning to cut down on telephone expenses and save on gas and electricity.

More than one-third pledged to stick to such plans in future.

 The survey gathered feedback from 2,000 respondents from all major residential communities across Dubai. They included both  nationals and expatriates, aged 18 to 59.

In August, a MasterCard Index of Consumer Confidence indicated consumer confidence in the UAE had inched up to 94.7 from the previous survey’s 91.4, based on growth in tourism, logistics and aviation.