Consumer Confidence declines again in June

Consumers see improvement, but are less upbeat about short-term outlook

Casual Living Staff -- Casual Living, 7/5/2012 4:14:14 PM

NEW YORK, N.Y. - The Consumer Confidence Index, which had declined in May, fell further in June. Although consumers said they saw a slight improvement in current conditions, they were less optimistic about the next six months.

"Consumer Confidence declined in June, the fourth consecutive moderate decline," said Lynn Franco, director of economic indicators at The Conference Board. "Consumers were somewhat more positive about current conditions, but slightly more pessimistic about the short-term outlook. Income expectations, which had improved last month, declined in June. If this trend continues, spending may be restrained in the short-term. The improvement in the Present Situation Index, coupled with a moderate softening in consumer expectations, suggests there will be little change in the pace of economic activity in the near-term."

The Index now stands at 62.0 (1985=100), down from 64.4 in May. The Expectations Index declined to 72.3 from 77.3. The Present Situation Index, however, increased to 46.6 from 44.9 last month.

Consumers' assessment of current conditions improved slightly in June. Those claiming business conditions are "good" increased to 14.9% from 13.6%, but those saying business conditions are "bad" increased to 35.1% from 34.7%. Consumers' appraisal of the job market was mixed. Those stating jobs are "hard to get" increased to 41.5% from 40.9%, while those claiming jobs are "plentiful" increased to 7.8% from 7.5%.

Consumers have grown less upbeat about the short-term outlook. The percentage of consumers anticipating business conditions to improve over the next six months declined to 15.5% from 16.6%, while those expecting business conditions will worsen increased to 16.2% from 12.9%. Consumers' outlook for the labor market was mixed. Those anticipating more jobs in the months ahead declined to 14.1% from 15.4%, while those expecting fewer jobs also declined to 20.6% from 21.5%. The proportion of consumers expecting an increase in their
incomes declined to 14.8% from 15.7%.

The monthly Consumer Confidence Survey, based on a probability-design random sample, is conducted for The Conference Board by Nielsen, a leading global provider of information and analytics around what consumers buy and watch. The cutoff date for the preliminary results was June 14.