Statistics don’t tell the whole story

Now that our economic survey is over, what lies behind those numbers?

People enjoy their first day at The Galleria, checking out the stores and shopping at the brand new luxury mall at Sowwah Square on Al Maryah Island in Abu Dhabi. Silvia Razgova / The National

The National’s three-day series on the economy ended yesterday. Some of the survey results were surprising, more for the number of people who said they were affected by something than the findings themselves. For example, it is obvious that many people would have financial worries. But the survey had up to 94 per cent of residents reporting financial worries and more than half – 55 per cent – said that they had experienced stress or anxiety as a result. The same high numbers came into play when asked about failing to save enough for retirement (75 per cent) and those worried about their job security (four out of 10). If anything, what this says is that most people worry about money and being made redundant.

Step back a bit though and the survey is interesting for the context of the numbers.

First, the age profile of many of the respondents, particularly in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Both cities attract large numbers of young singles and couples. That demographic is likely to be prone to disproportionate spending on entertainment (going out to restaurants, for example), consumer goods and fashionable clothes and flashy cars. Could this be why our survey captured the statistic that a quarter of residents save nothing every month and that 69 per cent have not started planning for retirement? The age profile of those who answered that way was not clear so we don’t know if they were relatively young people.

Consider the context of the 50 per cent who say they have considered leaving the UAE because of the cost of living. That’s a startling statistic but it does not reveal how many are serial expatriates, with one eye on the next destination. As for those who expressed concerns about job security, the sentiment appeared to be strongest among Arab expatriates. Some of them must undoubtedly be concerned at having to return to post-revolution homelands.

Finally, of course, the general dissatisfaction with saving for the future. Ask anyone if they feel they are saving enough for retirement and it would be rare to find anyone who would say “yes”. It would probably be even harder to find someone who admitted they were careful enough to save precisely as much as they needed (and we suspect that such fastidiousness would extend to not discussing their finances with people who conduct surveys). As they say, context is all.