Consumer Confidence Bounces Back to 15-Year High
RISMEDIA, Monday, March 06, 2017— Consumer confidence bounced back in February after waning in January, posting a 114.8 reading in The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index®. The Expectations reading of the Index rose to 102.4, while the Present Situation reading rose to 133.4. January's reading was 111.6. "Consumer confidence increased in February and remains at a 15-year high," said Lynn Franco, director of Economic Indicators at The Conference Board, in a statement. "Consumers rated current business and labor market conditions more favorably this month than in January. Expectations improved regarding the short-term outlook for business, and to a lesser degree, jobs and income prospects. Overall, consumers expect the economy to continue expanding in the months ahead." The percentage of consumers who believe business conditions are "good," as defined by the Index, decreased from 29.0 percent in January to 28.7 percent in February; the percentage of those who believe business conditions are "bad" decreased from 15.9 percent in January to 13.2 percent in February. The percentage of those who expect business conditions to improve increased from 22.9 percent in January to 24.0 percent in February; the percentage of those who expect business conditions to worsen increased from 10.8 percent in January to 11.1 percent in February. The percentage of consumers who believe jobs are "plentiful" decreased from 27.1 percent in January to 26.2 in February, according to the Index; the percentage of those who believe jobs are "hard to get" decreased from 21.1 percent in January to 20.3 percent in February. The percentage of those who expect more jobs in the coming months increased from 19.7 percent in January to 20.4 percent in February; the percentage of those who expect less jobs in the coming months decreased from 14.4 percent in January to 13.6 percent in February. The percentage of consumers who expect higher income, as well, increased from 18.1 percent in January to 18.3 percent in February; the percentage of those who expect less decreased from 9.4 percent in January to 8.2 percent in February. Source: The Conference Board