The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index decreased 6.4 points to 120.2 in January. The Present Situation Index declined slightly by 0.3 points to 169.6. The Expectations Index fell 10.4 points to 87.3.
“Consumer Confidence declined in January, following a decrease in December,” said Lynn Franco, Senior Director of Economic Indicators at The Conference Board. “The Present Situation Index was virtually unchanged, suggesting economic conditions remain favorable. Expectations, however, declined sharply as financial market volatility and the government shutdown appear to have impacted consumers. Shock events such as government shutdowns (i.e. 2013) tend to have sharp, but temporary, impacts on consumer confidence. Thus, it appears that this month’s decline is more the result of a temporary shock than a precursor to a significant slowdown in the coming months.”
Consumers’ labor market outlook was less favorable in January. The percentage of consumers expecting more jobs in the coming months decreased 1.9 points to 14.7 percent, while the share of those anticipating fewer jobs increased, rising 1.9 points to 16.5 percent. Income expectations decreased, as 18.2 percent of consumers expected their incomes to increase in coming months. However the proportion expecting a decline increased from 7.6 percent to 7.1 percent.
Read the Conference Board release.
