The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index increased 0.3 point to 127.4 in July. The Present Situation Index increased 4.2 points to 165.9. The Expectations Index declined 2.3 points to 101.7.
“Consumer confidence gained marginal ground in July, after a modest decline in June,” said Lynn Franco, Director of Economic Indicators at The Conference Board. “Consumers’ assessment of present-day conditions improved, suggesting that economic growth is still strong. However, while expectations continue to reflect optimism in the short-term economic outlook, back-to-back declines suggest consumers do not foresee growth accelerating.”
Consumers’ labor market outlook was mixed in July. The percentage of consumers expecting more jobs in the coming months grew 2.5 points to 22.5 percent, while the share of those anticipating fewer jobs increased 2.6 points to 15.7 percent. Income expectations increased, as 20.8 percent of consumers expected their incomes to increase in coming months. The proportion expecting a decline rose from 7.9 percent to 9.2 percent.
Read the Conference Board release.
