August Consumer Outlook Up

The Conference Board, a private research group, said its U.S. consumer confidence index rose in August to 56.9, up from a revised 51.9 in July, according to the  Associated Press.  That’s the largest gain since August 2006, and is ahead of the 53 expected by economists.  This is the second month in a row that sentiment improved, after a six-month slide since January.  Consumer sentiment however, remains about half what it was a year ago.

The Consumer Confidence report, which took a sample of 5,000 U.S. households, showed that Americans’ were pessimistic about business conditions and jobs.  Consumers’ assessment of current conditions did not improve in August.  Those claiming business conditions are “bad” increased to 33.2% from 32.6% while those who saw them as “good” edged up to 13.4% from 13.2% last month.

The appraisal of the labor market also turned bleaker with those saying jobs are “hard to get” rose to 32.0% from 30.2% in July, while those who found them “plentiful” declined to 13.1% from 13.6%.

Consumers’ short-term expectations improved, but still remained negative.  Those expecting business conditions to worsen over the next six months declined to 25.8% from 32.4%, while those expecting conditions to improve rose to 11.9% from 9.2%.

The outlook for the labor market was less gloomy.  The percent of consumers anticipating fewer jobs in the months ahead decreased to 30.6% from 37.3%, while those expecting more jobs increased to 10.5% from 8.0%.  �