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The Consumer Confidence Index fell in September following an increase the previous month, The Conference Board Inc., a New York-based research organization, reported today. The September index stands at 53.1, down from 54.5 in August. 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 Sept. 22. "While not as pessimistic as earlier this year, consumers remain quite apprehensive about the short-term outlook and their incomes," says Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center. "With the holiday season quickly approaching, this is not very encouraging news." The percentage of survey respondents who said business conditions are "bad" increased to 46.3% in September from 44.6% who said so a month earlier. However, the percentage that said conditions are "good" increased to 8.7% in September from 8.5% in August. Respondents' assessment of the labor market was less favorable this month. The percentage claiming jobs are "hard to get" increased to 47% in September from 44.3% a month earlier, while the percentage claiming jobs are "plentiful" decreased to 3.4% in September from 4.3% in August.
