NEW YORK, Aug. 27, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- The Conference
Board Consumer Confidence Index® declined
marginally in August, following July's rebound. The Index now
stands at 135.1 (1985=100), down from 135.8 in July. The Present
Situation Index – based on consumers' assessment of current
business and labor market conditions – increased from 170.9 to
177.2. The Expectations Index – based on consumers' short-term
outlook for income, business and labor market conditions – declined
from 112.4 last month to 107.0 this month.
"Consumer confidence was relatively unchanged in August,
following July's increase," said Lynn
Franco, Senior Director of Economic Indicators at The
Conference Board. "Consumers' assessment of current conditions
improved further, and the Present Situation Index is now at its
highest level in nearly 19 years (Nov.
2000, 179.7). Expectations cooled moderately, but overall
remain strong. While other parts of the economy may show some
weakening, consumers have remained confident and willing to spend.
However, if the recent escalation in trade and tariff tensions
persists, it could potentially dampen consumers' optimism regarding
the short-term economic outlook."
The monthly Consumer Confidence
Survey®, based on a probability-design random
sample, is conducted for The Conference Board by Nielsen, a leading
global provider of information and analytics around what consumers
buy and watch. The cutoff date for the preliminary results was
August 16.
Consumers' assessment of current-day conditions improved in
August. The percentage of consumers claiming business conditions
are "good" increased from 39.9 percent to 42.0 percent, while those
saying business conditions are "bad" decreased from 11.2 percent to
9.8 percent. Consumers' appraisal of the job market was also more
favorable. Those saying jobs are "plentiful" increased from 45.6
percent to 51.2 percent, while those claiming jobs are "hard to
get" declined from 12.5 percent to 11.8 percent.
Consumers were moderately less optimistic about the short-term
outlook in August. The percentage of consumers expecting business
conditions will be better six months from now decreased from 24.0
percent to 21.9 percent, while those expecting business conditions
will worsen increased from 8.4 percent to 10.0 percent.
Consumers' outlook for the labor market was also slightly less
positive. The proportion expecting more jobs in the months ahead
decreased marginally from 19.9 percent to 19.7 percent, while those
anticipating fewer jobs increased from 11.1 percent to 13.6
percent. Regarding their short-term income prospects, the
percentage of consumers expecting an improvement decreased from
24.9 percent to 23.8 percent, however, the proportion expecting a
decrease declined, from 6.6 percent to 5.8 percent.
Source: August 2019 Consumer
Confidence Survey®
The Conference Board
The Conference Board publishes the Consumer Confidence
Index® at 10 a.m. ET
on the last Tuesday of every month. Subscription information and
the technical notes to this series are available on The Conference
Board website:
https://www.conference-board.org/data/consumerdata.cfm.
About The Conference Board
The Conference Board is the member-driven think tank that
delivers trusted insights for what's ahead. Founded in 1916, we are
a non-partisan, not-for-profit entity holding 501 (c) (3)
tax-exempt status in the United States.
www.conference-board.org.
About NIELSEN
Nielsen Holdings plc (NYSE: NLSN) is a global performance
management company that provides a comprehensive understanding of
what consumers watch and buy. Nielsen's Watch segment provides
media and advertising clients with Total Audience measurement
services for all devices on which content — video, audio and text —
is consumed. The Buy segment offers consumer packaged goods
manufacturers and retailers the industry's only global view of
retail performance measurement. By integrating information from its
Watch and Buy segments and other data sources, Nielsen also
provides its clients with analytics that help improve performance.
Nielsen, an S&P 500 company, has operations in over 100
countries, covering more than 90 percent of the world's population.
For more information,
visit www.nielsen.com.
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SOURCE The Conference Board