The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index Improves Again

August 26, 2014

The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index, which had increased in July, improved further in August.  The Index now stands at 92.4, up from 90.3 in July.  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.

Says Lynn Franco, Director of Economic Indicators at The Conference Board: "Consumer confidence increased for the fourth consecutive month as improving business conditions and robust job growth helped boost consumers' spirits.  Looking ahead, comsumers were marginally less optimistic about the short-term outlook compared to July, primarily due to concerns about their earnings.  Overall, however, they remain quite positive about the short-term outlooks for the economy and labor market."

Consumers' appraisal of current conditions continued to improve through August.  Those saying business conditions are "good" edged up to 23.9 percent from 23.3 percent, while those claiming business conditions are "bad" declined to 21.5 percent from 22.8 percent.  Consumers' assessment of the job market was also more positive.  Those stating jobs are "plentiful" increased to 18.2 percent from 15.6 percent, while those claiming jobs are "hard to get" declined marginally to 30.6 percent from 30.9 percent.

Consumers were slightly less optimistic in August about the short-term outlook.  The percentage of consumers expecting business conditions to improve over the next six months held steady at 20.4 percent, while those expecting business conditions to worsen fell to 10.2 percent from 12.1 percent.  Consumers, however, were somewhat mixed about the outlook for the labor market.  Those anticipating more jobs in the months ahead fell to 17.0 percent from 18.7 percent, although those anticipating fewer jobs also declined to 15.8 percent from 16.6 percent.  Fewer consumers expect their incomes to grow, 15.5 percent in August versus 17.7 percent in July, while those expecting a drop in their incomes rose marginally to 11.9 percent from 11.1 percent.

Source: The Conference Board