The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index increased 3.5 points to 129.5 in November. Last month’s index was upwardly revised from 125.9 to 126.2. The Present Situation Index grew 1.9 points to 153.9 after increasing 4.9 points last month. The Expectations Index rose 4.3 points to 113.3, the fourth increase in the last five months.
“Consumer confidence increased for a fifth consecutive month and remains at a 17-year high (Nov. 2000, 132.6),” said Lynn Franco, Director of Economic Indicators at The Conference Board. “Consumers’ assessment of current conditions improved moderately, while their expectations regarding the short-term outlook improved more so, driven primarily by optimism of further improvements in the labor market.”
Consumers’ labor market outlook also improved in November. The percentage of consumers expecting more jobs in the coming months increased from 18.7% to 22.6%, but the share of those anticipating fewer jobs fell from 11.6% to 11.0%. Income expectations decreased marginally, as 20.1% of consumers expected their incomes to increase in coming months, down from 20.3% in October. The proportion expecting a decline was virtually unchanged at 7.6%.
Read the Conference Board release.
