The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index hit a five-year high in May, rising to 76.2 in its preliminary results for the month, which would represent a seven-point improvement over the 69.0 recorded in April.
The last time the index exceeded this level was in February of 2008, when it stood at 76.4. “Consumers’ assessment of current business and labor-market conditions was more positive and they were considerably more upbeat about future economic and job prospects,” said Lynn Franco, director of economic indicators at The Conference Board: “Back-to-back monthly gains suggest that consumer confidence is on the mend and may be regaining the traction it lost due to the fiscal cliff, payroll-tax hike, and sequester.”
The monthly Consumer Confidence Survey is conducted for The Conference Board by Nielsen, a provider of information and analytics of what consumers buy and watch. The cutoff date for the preliminary results was May 15.
Also according to the Conference Board:
• Consumers’ appraisal of present-day conditions improved in May. Those saying business conditions are “good” increased to 18.8% from 17.5%, while those stating business conditions are “bad” decreased to 26% from 27.6%.
• Consumers’ assessment of the labor market was also more positive. Those claiming jobs are “plentiful” increased to 10.8% from 9.7%, while those claiming jobs are “hard to get” edged down to 36.1% from 36.9%.
