Consumer confidence continues to grow in August

Confidence among consumers saw continuous improvement in August after it already increased in July, according to The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index.

The index stands at 122.9 for August, up from the 120.0 level in July. The Present Situation Index rose to 151.2 from 145.4, while the Expectations Index climbed slightly to 104 from 103 last month.

“Consumer confidence increased in August following a moderate improvement in July,” said Lynn Franco, director of economic indicators at The Conference Board. “Consumers’ more buoyant assessment of present-day conditions was the primary driver of the boost in confidence, with the Present Situation Index continuing to hover at a 16-year high. Consumers’ short-term expectations were relatively flat, though still optimistic, suggesting that they do not anticipate an acceleration in the pace of economic activity in the months ahead.”

August saw consumers’ assessments of current conditions improve, while optimism about the short-term outlook was relatively unchanged.

More consumers found business conditions to be “good” at 34.5%, compared to the previous 32.5%. The number of consumers who thought business conditions were bad slid to 13.1% from 13.5%. Only 19.6% of consumers expected an improvement in business conditions through the next six months, down from 22.4%, while those expecting worse conditions fell to 7.3% from 8.4%.

Assessment of the labor market was upbeat among consumers, while the outlook for the market was mixed. There was an increase in consumers who said jobs are “plentiful” to 35.4% from 33.2%, as consumers who thought jobs are “hard to get” fell to 17.3% from 18.7%.

In terms of market outlook, 17.1% expected more jobs in the coming months, down from the previous 18.5%, while 13.0% expected jobs to decrease, a marginal decline from the 13.2% last month. There was a moderate increase in the percentage of consumers who anticipate an improvement in their short-term income prospects to 20.9% from 20.0%, while those expecting incomes to decline in the short-term decreased to 7.8% from 9.5%.