NEW YORK — American consumers remain surprisingly upbeat about the economy’s outlook, according to a report released Tuesday, the latest illustration of how U.S. economic data have defied the gravitational pull of Europe’s debt problems and instability abroad.
The Conference Board, a private research group, said its index of consumer confidence jumped to 64.5 in December, from a revised 55.2 in November, its highest level since April. The data come as early figures suggest the all-important holiday shopping season is exceeding expectations. The number dovetails with last week’s sunny reading of Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan consumer-sentiment index.
The Conference Board’s December’s confidence index was far better than the 59.0 expected by economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires.
The Present Situation index, a gauge of how consumers currently feel, jumped to 46.7 from last month’s 38.3 reading. Meanwhile, expectations for economic activity over the next six months surged to 76.4–the highest reading since May–from a revised 66.4.
“Looking ahead, consumers are more optimistic that business conditions, employment prospects and their financial situations will continue to get better,” said Lynn Franco, director of the Conference Board Consumer Research Center. “While consumers are ending the year in a somewhat more upbeat mood, it is too soon to tell if this is a rebound from earlier declines or a sustainable shift in attitudes.”
The Conference Board’s data showed perceptible improvement across most of its sub-indexes. The survey showed that 6.7% of respondents describe jobs as “plentiful” this month, up from 5.6% in November, while 41.8% think jobs are “hard to get,” down from 43.0% last month.
Consumers also expect employment conditions to improve over the next six months. The report shows 20.2% of respondents think there will be fewer jobs in the future, down from 23.8% thinking that a month ago.
Households also see gains in future income, an important change in attitude at the peak of the Christmas shopping season.
-By Javier E. David, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-4564; javier.david@dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
December 27, 2011 11:05 ET (16:05 GMT)
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