The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index increased 1.7 points to 128.7 in April. Last month’s index was downwardly revised from 127.7 to 127.0. The Present Situation Index rose 1.5 points to 159.6. The Expectations Index improved 1.9 points to 108.1.
“Consumer confidence increased moderately in April after a decline in March,” said Lynn Franco, Director of Economic Indicators at The Conference Board. “Consumers’ assessment of current conditions improved somewhat, with consumers rating both business and labor market conditions quite favorably. Consumers’ short-term expectations also improved, with the percent of consumers expecting their incomes to decline over the coming months reaching its lowest level since December 2000 (6.0 percent). Overall, confidence levels remain strong and suggest that the economy will continue expanding at a solid pace in the months ahead.”
Consumers’ labor market outlook was also more positive in April. The percentage of consumers expecting more jobs in the coming months grew 0.6 point to 18.9%, while the share of those anticipating fewer jobs remained at 12.5%. Income expectations were unchanged, as 23.1% of consumers expected their incomes to increase in coming months. However, the proportion expecting a decline fell from 7.2% to 6.8%.
Read the Conference Board release.
