IMGCAP(1)]
The Consumer Confidence Index improved in August following two consecutive months of declines, The Conference Board Inc., a New York-based research organization, reported today. The August index stands at 54.1, up from 47.4 in July. 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 Aug. 18. "Consumer confidence, which had posted back-to-back monthly declines, appears to be back on the mend," says Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center. The percentage of survey respondents who said business conditions are "bad" decreased to 45.6% in August from 46.5% who said so a month earlier. However, the percentage that said conditions are "good" decreased to 8.6% in August from 8.9% in July. Respondents' assessment of the labor market improved this month. The percentage claiming jobs are "hard to get" decreased to 45.1% in August from 48.5% a month earlier, while the percentage claiming jobs are "plentiful" increased to 4.2% in August from 3.7% in July.
