Consumer confidence took a small step back in April, posting a 120.3 reading in the latest Consumer Confidence Index® from The Conference Board. The Expectations reading of the Index fell to 106.7, while the Present Situation reading fell to 140.6. March’s reading was 124.9.
“Consumer confidence declined in April after increasing sharply over the past two months, but still remains at strong levels,” said Lynn Franco, director of Economic Indicators at The Conference Board, in a statement. “Consumers assessed current business conditions and, to a lesser extent, the labor market less favorably than in March. Looking ahead, consumers were somewhat less optimistic about the short-term outlook for business conditions, employment and income prospects. Despite April’s decline, consumers remain confident that the economy will continue to expand in the months ahead.”
The percentage of consumers who believe business conditions are “good,” as defined by the Index, decreased from 32.4 percent in March to 30.2 percent in April; the percentage of those who believe business conditions are “bad” increased from 13.1 percent in March to 13.8 percent in April. The percentage of those who expect business conditions to improve decreased from 26.9 percent in March to 24.8 percent in April; the percentage of those who expect business conditions to worsen increased from 8.5 percent in March to 10.9 percent in April.
The percentage of consumers who believe jobs are “plentiful” decreased from 31.8 percent in March to 30.8 percent in April, according to the Index; the percentage of those who believe jobs are “hard to get” remained unchanged at 19.1 percent. The percentage of those who expect more jobs in the coming months decreased from 23.8 percent in March to 23.0 percent in April; the percentage of those who expect less jobs in the coming months increased from 12.7 percent in March to 13.1 percent in April.
The percentage of consumers who expect higher incomes, as well, decreased from 22.5 percent in March to 19.3 percent in April; the percentage of those who expect a decrease remained unchanged at 7.5 percent.
Source: The Conference Board
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