Consumer Confidence Sours on Job Outlook

A conference board executive said:

Consumer confidence declined slightly in April, as consumers assessed current business and labor market conditions less favorably than in March. However, their expectations regarding the short-term outlook for the economy and labor market held steady. Thus, while sentiment regarding current conditions may have slipped a bit, consumers do not foresee the economy, or the labor market, losing the momentum that has been building up over the past several months.

Among those surveyed, confidence in present-day business conditions dropped from 22.6% to 21.8%, while those who believe business conditions worsened rose from 23.5% to 24.4%. Some 12.9% of respondents believe jobs are “plentiful,” down from 13.8% in March, while those who believe jobs are scarce increased from 31.4% to 32.5%.

Expectations for the next six months remained fairly even in April, with respondents who believe business conditions will get better remaining unchanged at 17.4% while those who think conditions will worsen rose slightly from 10.1% to 10.3%. The proportion of respondents expecting their incomes to increase rose from 15.3% in March to 17.1% in April. Respondents expecting a decrease in income also posted a rise, from 11.5% to 12.9%.

Jobs continue to be the weakest link in consumer confidence. With nearly a third of all respondents saying that jobs are still scarce, it seems clear that continued progress to reduce unemployment remains the main concern among consumers.

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