Consumer confidence falls again in April
Lowest level since March 2003
By Furniture Today Staff -- Furniture Today, April 30, 2008
NEW YORK — The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index, which declined sharply in March, fell another 3.6 points in April, reflecting what the board described as a “feeble level” of growth and an indication that economic conditions may have slowed even further.
The index now stands at 62.3 (1985=100), down from 65.9 in March. The Present Situation Index decreased from 80.7 from 90.6, and the Expectations index was virtually unchanged at 50.1 versus 49.1 in March.
It was the lowest level for the index since March 2003, when it hit 61.4 in advance of the Iraq war.
Lynn Franco, director of the Conference Board’s Consumer Research Center, said that not only are lackluster business and job conditions eroding confidence, but rising gasoline prices are undoubtedly heightening concerns.
“Consumers’ inflation expectations continue to rise and this measure now matches the all-time high reached in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina,” Franco said. “The percentage of respondents intending to take a vacation over the next six months has fallen to a 30-year low, another sign of consumers turning more cost conscious.”
Looking ahead, Franco said that consumers’ outlook for the economy, the job market and their income prospects “remains quite pessimistic and little changed from last month. In other words, the glass remains half empty.”
Based on a survey of 5,000 households, the board said that consumers’ assessment of current conditions weakened further this month. Consumers claiming business conditions are “bad” increased to 26.7% from 25.5%, while those claiming business conditions are “good” was about the same at 15.3% versus 15.6% last month. Consumers’ appraisal of the labor market was also more negative than in March, with the percentage saying jobs are “hard to get” rising to 27.9% from 24.5%. Those claiming jobs are “plentiful” declined to 16.6% from 19.2%.
Consumers’ short-term outlook remains “quite grim” in April, according to the Conference Board. Consumers expecting business conditions to worsen over the next six months increased to 27% from 26%, although those anticipating business conditions to improve also increased to 10.1% from 8.6% in March.
The outlook for the labor market also was mixed, but those anticipating more jobs increased to 9% from 8%, and the proportion of consumers expecting their incomes to increase declined to 15.1% from 16.1%.
