Four out of 10 shoppers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) believe the Persian Gulf country is in a financial recession, says a fresh report.

The report by the US-based financial firm Nielson, dubbed the Global Survey of Consumer Confidence, said that consumers in the UAE were less willing to “open their wallets in 2015."

The report also showed employment opportunities along with prospects of finding a job in the UAE were on the decline.

The findings of the report were conducted in a survey between February 23 and March 13 of this year. As many as 30,000 people were reportedly surveyed for the study.

The study revealed that the number of UAE regulars who think they are in an economic slump has increased to 39 percent in the first quarter of the 2015, compared to 33 percent around the same time in 2014.

Only 66 percent of the people living in the UAE believe they can find a job, while 50 percent believe they can “spend immediately.”

More than half of UAE citizens said they plan to put their extra cash in the bank, while 11 percent said they had no additional cash to save.

As daunting as the report seemed, it also showed that consumer confidence in the UAE is still the highest in the Middle East and North Africa.

The UAE is facing some economic hardships lately. Two different reports revealed in March earlier this year that the country’s non-oil private sector business growth had slowed to a 17-month low.

HDS/HB