When consumer
confidence is up, consumers are spending money.
The team at the Greensboro, North Carolina-based Furniture Today
Magazine is reporting that the Consumer Confidence Index is up two points to
92.4-the fourth month in a row of growth as released by the Conference
Board.
The index stood at
90.3 in July and both months were the highest readings since October 2007.
“Consumer confidence
increased for the fourth consecutive month as improving business conditions and
robust job growth helped boost consumers’ spirits,” said Conference Board
Director of Economic Indicators Lynn Franco. “Looking ahead, consumers were
marginally less optimistic about the short-term outlook compared to July,
primarily due to concerns about their earnings."
Franco noted that
consumers remain quite positive about the short-term outlooks for the economy and
labor market.
The Conference Board
said in the same report that the Present Situation Index increased to 94.6 from
87.9, while the Expectations Index edged down to 90.9 from 91.9 in July. The
cutoff for preliminary results from the survey on which the index is based was
Aug. 14.
It appears that consumers’
appraisal of current conditions continued to improve through August. The
Conference Board says that responses noting business conditions are “good”
edged up to 23.9% from 23.3%, while those claiming business conditions are
“bad” declined to 21.5% from 22.8%.
Consumers’ assessment
of the job market was also more positive. Those stating jobs are “plentiful”
increased to 18.2% from 15.6%, while those claiming jobs are “hard to get”
declined marginally to 30.6% from 30.9%.
The New York, New
York-based global independent business membership and research association also
noted in their August 26, 2014 report that consumers were slightly less
optimistic about the short-term outlook of the economy. The percentage of
consumers expecting business conditions to improve over the next six months
held steady at 20.4%, while those expecting business conditions to worsen fell
to 10.2% from 12.1%.
The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index ® (CCI) is a
barometer of the health of the U.S. economy from the perspective of the
consumer. The index is based on consumers’ perceptions of current business and
employment conditions, as well as their expectations for six months hence regarding
business conditions, employment, and income. The Consumer Confidence Index and
its related series are among the earliest sets of economic indicators available
each month and are closely watched as leading indicators for the U.S. economy.
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