Most of the world, including India, was pessimistic about the job market last year with 57 per cent of adults saying it was a bad time to find a job, according to a new Gallup survey.

Only one-third of the people said it was a good time, the leading US opinion poll organisation said on Monday releasing the results of Gallup surveys conducted in 146 countries in 2011.

Indians were only a little more optimistic than the average adult worldwide with 52 percent saying it was a bad time and only 36 percent saying it was a good time. Europeans were the most pessimistic, with 72 percent saying it was a bad time. Optimism was highest in the Americas, where a still dismal 38 per cent said it was a good time.

All of the top 10 countries where residents were most positive about the job market were developing countries, except Singapore.

Oil-rich Middle Eastern nations took four of the top spots; Saudi Arabia and Oman led internationally with 69 per cent of residents saying it was a good time to find a job, despite relatively high unemployment rates.

Six of the 10 countries with the most negative outlooks were EU countries, with Greeks and the Irish nearly universally saying it was a bad time to find a job.

Residents in eight of the world's 10 largest economies did not think it was a good time to find a job in 2011. Brazil and Germany were the two bright spots in an otherwise gloomy outlook on the availability of jobs; about half of residents in each country said it was a good time to find a job.

Results are based on telephone and face-to-face interviews with approximately 1,000 adults per country, aged 15 and older, conducted in 146 countries and areas in 2011, Gallup said.

( Press Trust of India )