The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index Rebounds

October 28, 2014

The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index, which had decreased in September, rebounded in October.  The Index now stands at 94.5, up from 89.0 in September.  The Present Situation Index edged up from 93.0 to 93.7, while the Expectations Index increased sharply to 95.0 from 86.4 in September.

Says Lynn Franco, Director of Economic Indicators at The Conference Board: "Consumer confidence, which had declined in September, rebounded in October.  A more favorable assessment of the current job market and business conditions contributed to the improvement in consumers' view of the present situation.  Looking ahead, consumers have regained confidence in the short-term outlook for the economy and labor market, and are more optimistic about their future earnings potential.  With the holiday season around the corner, this boost in confidence should be a welcome sign for retailers."

Consumers' appraisal of current conditions was moderately more favorable in October than in September.  Their view of business conditions was mixed; while the proportion saying conditions are "good" inched up from 24.2 percent to 24.5 percent, those claiming business conditions are "bad" also increased slightly, from 21.2 percent to 21.7 percent.  Consumers' assessment of the job market improved moderately, with the proportion stating jobs are "plentiful" increasing marginally from 16.3 percent to 16.5 percent, and those claiming jobs are "hard to get" declining slightly from 29.4 percent to 29.1 percent.

Consumers' optimism, which had declined considerably in September, improved in October.  The percentage of consumers expecting business conditions to improve over the next six months increased from 19.0 percent to 19.6 percent, while those anticipating fewer jobs fell from 16.9 percent to 13.9 percent.  The proportion of consumers expecting growth in their incomes rose from 16.9 percent in September to 17.7 percent in October, while the proportion expecting a drop in income fell from 13.4 percent to 11.6 percent.

Source: The Conference Board