August 26, 2020

U.S. Consumer Confidence Falters as Pandemic Drags On

Outlooks over present conditions “decreased sharply,” though Americans’ attitudes about the future also took a step back. The Conference Board says that consumers’ worries “will likely cause spending to cool in the months ahead.”

BOSTON – The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index decreased in August, following a previous decline in July. The Index now stands at 84.8, down from 91.7 in July.

The Present Situation Index – based on consumers’ assessment of current business and labor market conditions – decreased from 95.9 to 84.2. The Expectations Index – based on consumers’ short-term outlook for income, business and labor market conditions – declined from 88.9 in July to 85.2 this month.

“Consumer confidence declined in August for the second consecutive month,” says Lynn Franco, senior director of economic indicators at The Conference Board. “The Present Situation Index decreased sharply, with consumers stating that both business and employment conditions had deteriorated over the past month.

“Consumers’ optimism about the short-term outlook, and their financial prospects, also declined and continues on a downward path. Consumer spending has rebounded in recent months but increasing concerns amongst consumers about the economic outlook and their financial well-being will likely cause spending to cool in the months ahead.”

Present-day conditions: The percentage of consumers claiming business conditions are “good” right now declined from 17.5% to 16.4%, while those claiming business conditions are “bad” increased from 38.9% to 43.6%.

Their appraisal of the job market was also less favorable. The percentage of consumers saying jobs are “plentiful” declined from 22.3% to 21.5%, while those claiming jobs are “hard to get” increased from 20.1% to 25.2%.

Short-term future outlook: The percentage of consumers expecting business conditions to improve over the next six months declined from 31.6% to 29.9%, while those expecting business conditions to worsen increased slightly from 20.2% to 20.5%.

Their outlook for the labor market was a bit more negative. The proportion expecting more jobs in the months ahead declined from 29.6% to 29.1%, while those anticipating fewer jobs increased from 21.3% to 21.9%.

Regarding short-term income prospects, the percentage of consumers expecting an increase declined from 14.8% to 12.7%, while the proportion expecting a decrease rose from 15.8% to 16.6%.

Nielson conducts the monthly Consumer Confidence Survey. The cutoff date for the preliminary results was August 14.

Information provided by Florida Realtors. Click here to see the original article.

U.S. Consumer Confidence Falters as Pandemic Drags On

Outlooks over present conditions “decreased sharply,” though Americans’ attitudes about the future also took a step back. The Conference Board says that consumers’ worries “will likely cause spending to cool in the months ahead.”

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