Mixed signals found in Confidence Report
By David Gill -- Home Textiles Today, 3/30/2001 12:00:00 AM
NEW YORK -In what is being considered a "rebound," the consumer confidence index broke a five-month losing string in March to finish at 117.0-up more than 7 percent from the downwardly revised 109.2 figure posted for February.
As reported by The Conference Board, consumer confidence got its early spring boost by, employment prospects. Even in the face of both actual and speculated layoffs by some of the nation's high-profile companies, the consumers surveyed by the board portrayed a rosy outlook for their job situations over the next six months.
Their assessments were enough to pump up the expectations component of the overall index nearly 13 points from February to March, to 83.6. The present-situations index, the other of the two major components, was virtually flat last month, finishing at 167.2.
The consumer confidence indices increased for eight of the nine U.S. regions in the survey. The largest increase, 11.7 percent, occurred in the West North Central region, whose index hit 119.9. The only lagging region was the Middle Atlantic, whose index slipped 2.8 percent to 98.9.
Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board's consumer research center said: "The recent weakness in the stock market has done little to dampen either consumers' assessment of present economic conditions or further expectations."
Michael Niemira, analyst with the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, noted that the March reading was the highest for the index since December.
Yet Niemira's other observations seem to signal caution. The overall index is well below its historic high, 144.7, posted in January of last year. Also, he said, the expectations component is below its historic average of 96.4.
Dana Johnson, analyst with Banc One Capital Markets, said the behavior of present situations and expectations, reflected consumers' moods regarding their employment prospects-flat for now, better down the road, in other words.
Regarding the labor market, Johnson said, "The report seems to suggest no noteworthy further deterioration." If current employment data bear this out, he added, the Federal Reserve may not need to do any more with interest rates - following its latest rates slash two weeks ago.
Consumer confidence by region
| REGION | % CHANGE |
|---|---|
|
New England |
1.5 |
|
Middle Atlantic |
-2.8 |
|
East North Central |
11.2 |
|
West North Central |
11.7 |
|
South Atlantic |
7.5 |
|
East South Central |
9.5 |
|
West South Central |
2.5 |
|
Mountain |
8.1 |
|
Pacific |
6.3 |
We would love your feedback!
-
Consumer Confidence Index dips in September
Sep 28, 2010 -
Consumer Confidence Index Improved in December
Jan 31, 2012 -
Consumer Confidence Index Rebounds in April
May 11, 2011 -
Consumer Confidence Index rebounds
Apr 27, 2011
Featured Company
-
FurnitureCore.com
FurnitureCore.com is a dynamic web application aimed at the furniture industry. Retailers and manufacturers alike will find our deep reserve of tools to be exactly what their furniture business needs.www.furniturecore.com... more
Most Recent Resources
- Getting the most out of offline leads
- Free Shipping and the Importance of Onsite Promotion
- Should Branded Manufacturers Participate in Flash Sales?
- Rugs 101 - Special Edition
- How Big Is Your Label
- Choosing a Web Site Developer
- Convergence: Tie Your Online & Offline Experience...
- Social Networks to Social Shopping
- Why Brands and Their Retailers are Facebook’s Biggest...
- Web Based Intelligence Gathering
- The Future of Tablets
- Shopatron: Bicycles & eCommerce
- A Guide to Holiday eCommerce Success
- Mattress Buying 101 - Connecting with Consumers
- Designing Your Brand’s Website for eCommerce
- Global Sourcing in 2010: Doing More With Less
- Comparing Four Options for Turning Web Site Traffic into...
- Are You Prepared for the 2009 Holiday Season? A Branded...
- Design, Develop, Deliver: The Three D's to Digitally...
