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After rebounding last month, consumers' confidence in the economy slipped in September as anxiety concerning business conditions, the job market and their income persists.
The Consumer Confidence Index for September stands at 53.1, down from 54.5 in August, The Conference Board Inc., a New York-based research organization, reported today. The baseline for the index, set in 1985, is 100.
"While not as pessimistic as earlier this year, consumers remain quite apprehensive about the short-term outlook and their incomes," Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center, says of the index. "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.
The number of respondents anticipating an improvement in business conditions over the next six months decreased to 21.3% from 22.2%, while those expecting conditions to worsen decreased to 15% from 15.2%, according to the survey.
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.
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.
