Consumer Confidence Increases In December

For the second consecutive month, consumers are feeling a little better about the economy, The Conference Board Inc., a New York-based research organization, reported Tuesday. The December index stands at 52.9, up from 50.6 in November. The baseline for the index, set in 1985, is 100. United Kingdom-based research company TNS conducts the monthly Consumer Confidence survey of 5,000 randomly selected households. The cutoff date for this month's survey was Dec. 21. "Consumer confidence posted yet another moderate gain in December as expectations for the short-term future increased to the highest level in two years," says Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center. The survey breaks down how consumers feel about both current conditions in the Present Situation Index and short-term conditions, looking roughly six months ahead, in the Expectations Index. Survey respondents claiming business conditions are "bad" increased in December to 46.6% from 44.5%, while those claiming conditions are "good" decreased to 7% from 8.1%. Consumers' appraisal of the job market was mixed. Those claiming jobs are "hard to get" decreased to 48.6% in December from 49.2% a month earlier, while those claiming jobs are "plentiful" decreased to 2.9% from 3.1%. The short-term outlook improved in December. Those anticipating business conditions would improve over the next six months increased to 21.3% from 19.7%, while those expecting conditions to worsen decreased to 11.9% from 14.6%.