Manila  - Six out of 10 Filipinos believe the Philippine economy has slipped into a recession amid spiraling food and oil prices, a consumer confidence survey showed on Wednesday.

The survey, conducted by The Nielsen Company, was released just one week after the government announced that economic growth in the first quarter of the year slackened to 5.2 per cent from a year ago.

"Sixty-one per cent of Filipinos think that the economy is in recession," Benedicto Cid, managing director of research of The Nielsen Company, said during the release of the survey results.

"This may not be technically true, but this is the perception of the people... that things are looking tough," he said. "This is a case of perception going ahead of reality."

An economy is considered in recession if it posts negative growth for at least two successive quarters.

The Consumer Confidence, Concerns and Spending Survey, conducted over the internet, had 523 respondents belonging to the upper and middle classes.

It showed that Filipino consumer confidence fell 9 index points in the first half of 2008 compared to the second half of last year. The level was also down 8 points from the same period in 2007.

Cid said Filipinos were "much less optimistic" about employment prospects and personal finances. Consumers also think that now is not a good time to spend money. (dpa)