The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index Improves In May

May 27, 2014

The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index, which had decreased in April, improved moderately in May.  The Index now stands at 83.0, up from 81.7 in April.  The Present Situation Index increased to 80.4 from 78.5, while the Expectations Index edged up to 84.8 from 83.9 in April.

Says Lynn Franco, Director of Economic Indicators at The Conference Board: "Consumer confidence improved slightly in May, as consumers assessed current conditions, in particular the labor market, more favorably.  Expectations regarding the short-term outlook for the economy, jobs, and personal finances were also more upbeat.  In fact, the percentage of consumers expecting their incomes to grow over the next six months is the highest since December 2007 (20.2 percent).  Thus, despite last month's decline, consumers' confidence appears to be growing."

Consumers' assessment of present-day conditions improved in May.  Those stating business conditions are "good" decreased to 21.1 percent from 22.2 percent, while those stating business conditions are "bad" declined to 24.1 percent from 24.8 percent.  Consumers' assessment of the labor market was more favorable.  Those claiming jobs are "plentiful" rose to 14.1 percent from 13.0 percent, while those claiming jobs are "hard to get" decreased slightly to 32.3 precent from 32.8 percent.

Consumers' expectations increased slightly in May.  The percentage of consumers expecting business conditions to improve over the next six months edged up to 17.5 percent from 17.2 percent, while those expecting business conditions to worsen decreased marginally to 10.2 percent from 10.5 percent.

Consumers were more positive about the outlook for the labor market.  Those anticipating more jobs in the months ahead increased to 15.4 percent from 14.7 percent, while those anticipating fewer jobs edged up to 18.3 percent from 18.0 percent.  The proportion of consumers expecting their incomes to grow increased to 18.3 percent from 16.8 percent, but those expecting a drop in their incomes also increased, to 14.5 percent from 12.9 percent.

Source: The Conference Board