The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index decreased 2.2 points to 135.7 in November. The Present Situation Index increased 0.8 points to 172.7. The Expectations Index fell 4.1 points to 111.0.
“Despite a small decline in November, Consumer Confidence remains at historically strong levels,” said Lynn Franco, Senior Director of Economic Indicators at The Conference Board. “Consumers’ assessment of current conditions increased slightly, with job growth the main driver of improvement. Expectations, on the other hand, weakened somewhat in November, primarily due to a less optimistic view of future business conditions and personal income prospects. Overall, consumers are still quite confident that economic growth will continue at a solid pace into early 2019. However, if expectations soften further in the coming months, the pace of growth is likely to begin moderating.”
Consumers’ labor market outlook was mixed in November. The percentage of consumers expecting more jobs in the coming months increased 0.5 point to 22.8 percent, while the share of those anticipating fewer jobs also increased, rising 0.5 point to 11.1 percent. Income expectations decreased, as 21.5 percent of consumers expected their incomes to increase in coming months. The proportion expecting a decline decreased from 8.2 percent to 7.8 percent.
Read the Conference Board release.
