Says Lynn Franco, Director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center: "Consumer Confidence now stands at a five-and-a-half year high (August 2001, 114.0), as improving present-day business conditions and an easing in the proportion of consumers claiming jobs are hard to get have combined to lift consumers' spirits. Looking ahead six months, consumers' outlook was little changed from last month. All in all, it appears that the pace of economic growth exhibited in the final months of 2006 has carried over into early 2007 and may have even gained a little momentum."
Consumers' assessment of present conditions improved further in February. Those claiming conditions are "good" increased to 29.4 percent from 28.0 percent. Those saying conditions are "bad" declined to 14.3 percent from 16.2 percent.
Labor market conditions were somewhat mixed. Consumers saying jobs are "hard to get" declined to 17.5 percent from 19.7 percent. This series now stands at a five-and-a-half year low (August 2001, 16.0 percent). Those claiming jobs are "plentiful," however, decreased to 27.7 percent from 29.6 percent in January.
Consumers' outlook for the next six months did not change significantly in February. Those anticipating business conditions to worsen remained at 8.0 percent, while those expecting business conditions to improve increased slightly to 16.7 percent from 16.3 percent.
The outlook for the labor market was relatively more upbeat. Consumers expecting fewer jobs in the months ahead declined to 14.1 percent from 15.6 percent, but those holding the opposite view remained virtually unchanged at 13.7 percent. The proportion of consumers expecting their incomes to increase in the months ahead declined to 17.7 percent from 20.0 percent in January.
