The survey, conducted by Bayt.com and YouGov, also reveals that only 36 percent of respondents in the Kingdom believe their current situation had improved from last year.

The survey demonstrates that while end-of-year sentiments towards personal financial situations and national economy appear to be pessimistic, outlook for next year is brighter.

Respondents in the Kingdom state that their (and their family's) current financial situation is either the same (31 percent) or worse (25 percent) than last year, with 36 percent claiming to have had their finances improve in the same time period.

The generally neutral/negative feeling is also directed toward the country's economy, with a collective 57 percent saying that the situation is the same (26 percent) or worse (31 percent) than it was 12 months ago.

Business conditions are considered to be down; 23 percent of respondents say that this is a bad time for business, which is perhaps reflective of the fact that 40 percent believe that this is a bad time to purchase consumer durable goods — only 17 percent say this is a good time to buy, with 31 percent claiming it to be a neutral time.

This quarter is also considered to have been a bad time for employment: 35 percent of respondents claim that there are "very few" jobs available in the Kingdom, with a further 30 percent saying that there are "not many available". In correlation with this, 22 percent state that there are fewer employees working with them now, compared to last year, though 36 percent claim that their businesses have expanded, and 23 percent say that the number of employees is still the same.

Meanwhile, 54 percent of respondents claim that their salary has not kept up with the current cost of living.

"Sentiments are quite low this year, as it seems like we're still riding on the tail-end of the economic recession. However, going forward, expectations and optimism are high, particularly for those looking for employment," said Amer Zureikat, VP sales at Bayt.com.

"At Bayt.com, employers and jobseekers alike can find the ideal solution to their employment needs, as we make it easier for people to find their ideal match through our comprehensive database."

As mentioned by Zureikat, the outlook for 2012 is positive, with 57 percent of respondents believing that their financial position will change for the better in the coming year, and 50 percent saying the same about the country's economy.

Business conditions are expected to improve according to 56 percent of Saudi respondents, while 41 percent are positive that there will be more jobs available — 23 percent believe that the number of jobs will remain the same, and 22 percent believe there will be fewer jobs.

Pessimism continues when respondents were questioned about expected company growth in the coming three months: 33 percent believe that there will be no change in the number of employees taken on by their company (28 percent say there will be positive growth; 19 percent state the opposite).

The statistics reflect a similar outlook in terms of keeping up with staff requirements — 34 percent of respondents have neutral sentiments, with 23 percent stating that their company will fail to match requirements.

The outlook for the economy is not much better, as inflation has left 32 percent of respondents in the Kingdom with a negative outlook for the cost of living in the future, and 35 percent believe that the cost of real estate will be negatively impacted, too.

"Despite the overall outlook being less than positive for the present, there are some warming sentiments for the year to come as people look forward to improved business conditions. Better business conditions should lead to more jobs and possibly enhanced compensations, which is always something to look forward to," said Sundip Chahal, CEO, YouGov.

Again, there is a tendency towards negative sentiment when it comes to job satisfaction.

Only 15 percent of respondents in the Kingdom are satisfied with their job and career prospects, with 27 percent of them feeling happy with the potential for growth in their current organization.

Satisfaction with job security is considered to be slightly higher, with 31 percent claiming that they are secure in their positions; only eight are content with their current compensation though. 46 percent of respondents are displeased, and 32 percent are neutral.

The majority of the Kingdom respondents are not looking to make any major purchases in 2012.

Of the 34 percent who say that they are considering buying a vehicle, 52 percent will buy new, and 43 percent will opt to purchase a used vehicle. Only 23 percent are looking to buy property in the coming 12 months — of these, 69 percent will buy new.

Laptops continue to be the most popular items that people are looking to buy in the next six months, with 27 percent saying they will invest in one.

The second-most popular consumer good in the Kingdom is furniture (22 percent), followed by air conditioners (17 percent).

Data for the quarterly Bayt.com Consumer Confidence Index survey was collected online from Nov. 27 to Dec. 6, with 7,343 respondents aged over 18 years, covering GCC Arab, North African, Levant, Western expatriate and Asian nationalities. Countries who participated are UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Pakistan.