US consumer confidence continues to improve: The Conference Board

The present situation index—based on consumers’ assessment of current business and labour market conditions—increased to 151 in March from 147.6 in February.

Consumers’ assessment of current business conditions fell slightly in March, with 19.5 per cent of them saying business conditions were ‘good’, down from 20.4 per cent in February. However, 17.2 per cent said in March that business conditions were ‘bad’, down from 17.7 per cent in February.

Their appraisal of the labour market was more positive in March, with 43.1 per cent of them saying jobs were ‘plentiful’, up from 42.8 per cent in February; 10.9 per cent of consumers said jobs were ‘hard to get’, down from 12.7 per cent in February.

The expectations index—based on consumers’ short-term outlook for income, business and labour market conditions—fell to 73.8 in March, down from 76.3 last month. An expectations index reading below 80 often signals a forthcoming recession, the think tank noted in a release.

Consumers were more pessimistic overall about the short-term business conditions outlook in March, with 14.3 per cent of them expecting business conditions to improve, up from 14 per cent in February; 17.6 per cent expect business conditions to worsen, up from February’s 16.9 per cent.

Their assessment of the short-term labour market outlook was more pessimistic in March, with 13.9 per cent of them expecting more jobs to be available, down from 14.1 per cent in February; 18.2 per cent anticipate fewer jobs, up from February’s 17.5 per cent.

“Consumers’ assessment of the present situation improved in March, but they also became more pessimistic about the future,” said Dana M Peterson, chief economist at the think tank.

“Confidence rose among consumers aged 55 and over but deteriorated for those under 55. Separately, consumers in the $50,000-$99,999 income group reported lower confidence in March, while confidence improved slightly in all other income groups. However, over the last six months, confidence has been moving sideways with no real trend to the upside or downside either by income or age group,” she noted.

Consumers expressed more concern about the US political environment compared to prior months, Peterson added.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)