Consumer Confidence Retreats Nearly 10 Points for February

February 23, 2010  by in UnCategorized   

By Home Furnishings Business in economic news on February 24, 2010 Consumers went back into their caves in February as consumer confidence retreated sharply for the month, according to the Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index.

The Index now stands at 46.0, down from 56.5 in January. The Present Situation Index decreased to 19.4 from 25.2, and the Expectations Index declined to 63.8 from 77.3 last month.

The survey is based on a representative sample of 5,000 U.S. households. The cutoff date for February€™s preliminary results was Feb. 17.

"Concerns about current business conditions and the job market pushed the Present Situation Index down to its lowest level in 27 years (Feb. 1983, 17.5)," said Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center. "Consumers' short-term outlook also took a turn for the worse, with fewer consumers anticipating an improvement in business conditions and the job market over the next six months. Consumers also remain extremely pessimistic about their income prospects. This combination of earnings and job anxieties is likely to continue to curb spending."

Consumers' assessment of current-day conditions soured in February. Those claiming conditions are "good" decreased to 6.2 percent from 8.5 percent, while those claiming business conditions are "bad" increased to 46.3 percent from 44.7 percent. Consumers' assessment of the labor market was also more pessimistic. Those saying jobs are "hard to get" rose to 47.7 percent from 46.5 percent, while those saying jobs are "plentiful" decreased to 3.6 percent from 4.4 percent.

Consumers' short-term outlook, which had been improving, lost ground in February. The percentage of consumers anticipating an improvement in business conditions over the next six months decreased to 16.7 percent from 20.7 percent, while those anticipating conditions will worsen increased to 15.3 percent from 12.7 percent. Regarding the outlook for the labor market, the percentage of consumers expecting fewer jobs increased to 24.6 percent from 18.9 percent. Those anticipating more jobs will become available in the months ahead declined to 13.4 percent from 15.8 percent. The proportion of consumers anticipating an increase in their incomes declined to 9.5 percent from 11.0 percent.