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Consumers Gain Confidence in November
November 29,
2010 by in UnCategorized 
By Home Furnishings Business in economic news on November 30, 2010
Consumers got a bit bolder in November with today's consumer confidence numbers showing an increase in the Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index to 54.1.
That's up from October's reading of 49.9. According to the
Conference Board, the Present Situation Index rose to 24.0 from 23.5, and the Expectations Index climbed to 74.2 from 67.5 last month.
The survey is based on a representative sample of 5,000 U.S. households and is by
TNS.
Consumer confidence is now at its highest level in five months, a welcome sign as we enter the holiday season," said Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center. "Consumers assessment of the current state of the economy and job market, while only slightly better than last month, suggests the economy is still expanding, albeit slowly. Expectations, the main driver of this months increase in confidence, are now at the highest level since May (Expectations Index in May was 84.6). Hopefully, the improvement in consumers mood will continue in the months ahead.
Consumers were more optimistic about the short-term outlook than in October. Those anticipating an improvement in business conditions over the next six months rose to 16.7 percent from 15.8 percent, while those anticipating business conditions will worsen declined to 12.1 percent from 14.4 percent.
Consumers were also more upbeat about future job prospects. Those expecting fewer jobs in the months ahead declined to 18.8 percent from 22.3 percent, while the percentage expecting more jobs rose to 15.5 percent from 14.5 percent. The proportion of consumers expecting an increase in their incomes increased to 10.6 percent from 9.7 percent.
Read the entire release online.