MNI BRIEF: PBOC Survey Shows Weak Confidence On Income

Chinese residents’ income confidence, employment expectations and willingness to consume all weakened in the second quarter, according to a People’s Bank of China survey released Tuesday.

The Bank’s urban depositor survey, which covered 20,000 households across 50 cities, showed the income sentiment index at 45.0%, down 1.2 percentage points from Q1. Around 20.1% of respondents reported that their income had decreased. The income confidence index also declined by 0.6 pp q/q to 45.0%. (See MNI: China's GDP Faces H2 Growth Challenges)

The employment sentiment index fell to 28.5%, down 1.8 pp, with 53.7% of residents saying the job market is severe and jobs are hard to find, or that the outlook remains unclear. The employment expectations index declined 1.2 pp to 41.7%.

Consumption appetite also softened, with 23.3% of residents preferring more consumption – down 0.5 pp from the previous quarter – while 63.8% preferred more savings, up 1.5 pp, and 12.9% opted for more investment, down 1.1 pp.