Consumer Confidence declined in October, falling 5 points to 97.6 according to The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index.
The Present Situation Index – a measure of respondents’ appraisal of current business and employment conditions, fell 8.2 points from an eight year high to 112.1, while the Expectations Index – a measure of business employment and total family income expectations in the next six months, fell 2.8 points to 88.0.
“Consumers were less positive in their assessment of present-day conditions, in particular the job market, and were moderately less optimistic about the short-term outlook,” says Lynn Franco, Director of Economic Indicators at The Conference Board. “Despite the decline, consumers still rate current conditions favorably, but they do not anticipate the economy strengthening much in the near-term.”
Outlook for the labor market was subdued, as respondents anticipating more jobs in the months ahead declined from 14.9 percent to 14.5 percent, while those anticipating fewer jobs increased from 15.9 percent to 16.9 percent. Income expectations also declined, as 18.0 percent of respondents expected incomes to increase, down from 18.7 percent in September.
Read The Conference Board release.
