Consumer Confidence Index holds fairly steady in July
Reading of 51.9 indicates mood still gloomy
Clint Engel -- Furniture Today, July 29, 2008
NEW YORK — Consumer confidence held fairly steady in July, increasing to 51.9 from 51.0 in June, as consumers remained gloomy about the job market and business conditions, The Conference Board said.
The board’s Present Situation Index was nearly unchanged at 65.3 vs. 65.4 in June, and its Expectations Index was up slightly to 43 from an all-time low of 41.4.
“Consumers’ assessment of current conditions was little changed, suggesting there has been no significant improvement, nor significant deterioration, in business or labor market conditions,” said Lynn Franco, director of the board’s Consumer Research Center.
“Looking ahead, while consumers remain extremely grim about short-term prospects, the modest improvement in expectations, often a harbinger of economic times to come, bears careful watching over the next few months.”
A representative sample of 5,000 U.S. households was surveyed for the index with the cutoff date of July 22.
The consumer’s take on current conditions remained “quite bleak in July,” the board said, with those saying business conditions are “bad” increasing slightly to 32.8% from 31.9%. Consumers claiming business conditions are “good” rose to 13.1% from 11.5%.
The view on the labor market remained negative with 30.3% saying jobs are “hard to get,” up from 29.7% percent in June. Those saying jobs are “plentiful” declined to 13.5% from 14.1%
Consumers’ outlook remained “very pessimistic,” the board said, although slightly improved from last month. Those expecting business conditions to worsen over the next six months dipped to 32.4% from 33.5%, while those expecting conditions to improve edged up to 9.3% from 8.5% in June.
Consumers’ outlook for the job market worsened with the number expecting fewer jobs in the months ahead increasing to 37.1% from 35.7% and those anticipating more jobs registering flat with June at 8.2%. The proportion of consumers expecting their incomes to increase rose to 14.2% from 13.1%.
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