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Americans just as downbeat as year ago
By Anne D'innocenzio |
September 29, 2010, Wednesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
AMERICANS' view of the economy turned grimmer in September amid escalating job worries, falling to the lowest point since February.
The downbeat report, released yesterday, raises more fears about the tenuous United States economic recovery. It also further underscores the disconnect between Wall Street and Main Street; consumers' confidence fell further even as stocks rebounded in September.
The Conference Board, based in New York, said its monthly Consumer Confidence Index now stands at 48.5, down from the revised 53.2 in August. Economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters were expecting 52.5.
The reading marked the lowest point since February's 46.4. It takes a reading of 90 to indicate a healthy economy - a level not approached since the recession began in December 2007.
Economists watch confidence closely because consumer spending accounts for about 70 percent of US economic activity and is critical to a strong rebound.
The index - which measures how shoppers feel about business conditions, the job market and the next six months - had been recovering since hitting an all-time low of 25.3 in February 2009, but Americans are just as downbeat as they were a year ago.
In September 2009, the index stood at 53.4. Since then, it has mostly hovered in a tight range between the mid-40s and the high 50s. May 2010 was the peak, at 62.7.
One portion of the index, which measures how shoppers feel now, fell to 23.1 in September from 24.9. The other measuring consumers' assessment of economic conditions over the next six months fell to 65.4 from 72.0.
"Overall, consumers' confidence in the state of the economy remains quite grim," Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center, said in a statement. "And, with so few expecting conditions to improve in the near term, the pace of economic growth is not likely to pick up in the coming months."
Fears had been easing that the economy isn't heading toward a double-dip recession amid a fresh batch of economic reports. While firms aren't making lots of job offers, far fewer people are applying for unemployment, according to the latest figures from the Labor Department.
The downbeat report, released yesterday, raises more fears about the tenuous United States economic recovery. It also further underscores the disconnect between Wall Street and Main Street; consumers' confidence fell further even as stocks rebounded in September.
The Conference Board, based in New York, said its monthly Consumer Confidence Index now stands at 48.5, down from the revised 53.2 in August. Economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters were expecting 52.5.
The reading marked the lowest point since February's 46.4. It takes a reading of 90 to indicate a healthy economy - a level not approached since the recession began in December 2007.
Economists watch confidence closely because consumer spending accounts for about 70 percent of US economic activity and is critical to a strong rebound.
The index - which measures how shoppers feel about business conditions, the job market and the next six months - had been recovering since hitting an all-time low of 25.3 in February 2009, but Americans are just as downbeat as they were a year ago.
In September 2009, the index stood at 53.4. Since then, it has mostly hovered in a tight range between the mid-40s and the high 50s. May 2010 was the peak, at 62.7.
One portion of the index, which measures how shoppers feel now, fell to 23.1 in September from 24.9. The other measuring consumers' assessment of economic conditions over the next six months fell to 65.4 from 72.0.
"Overall, consumers' confidence in the state of the economy remains quite grim," Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center, said in a statement. "And, with so few expecting conditions to improve in the near term, the pace of economic growth is not likely to pick up in the coming months."
Fears had been easing that the economy isn't heading toward a double-dip recession amid a fresh batch of economic reports. While firms aren't making lots of job offers, far fewer people are applying for unemployment, according to the latest figures from the Labor Department.
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