Consumer Confidence rises 2.5 points in August
But job concerns still weigh on people's minds
Larry Thomas -- Furniture Today, September 2, 2010
NEW YORK — The Consumer Confidence Index rose to 53.5 in August - 2.5 points ahead of July - putting the closely-watched gauge essentially even with where it stood a year ago.
The data, gleaned from a monthly survey conducted by The Conference Board, showed an improvement in consumers' short-term outlook but also indicated they remain apprehensive about the future, said Lynn Franco, director of the board's Consumer Research Center.
"Consumers' assessment of current conditions was less favorable as employment concerns continue to weigh heavily on consumers' attitudes," Franco said.
Among those surveyed, only 8.7% described business conditions as "good," while 41.9% said they were "bad." In July, the numbers were 8.8% and 43.3%, respectively.
Those saying jobs are "hard to get" increased to 45.7% from 45.1% in July, while those claiming jobs are "plentiful" declined to 3.8% from 4.4% in July.
Those anticipating an improvement in business conditions over the next six months increased to 17% from 15.8% in July, while those anticipating conditions will worsen declined to 13.4% from 15.3% in July.
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