Even As Job Concerns Linger, American Consumers Getting More Optimistic
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After a plunge in consumer confidence in February, the American outlook on the economy rebounded in March, although a weak jobs market has uncertainty still weighed on the minds of shoppers.
The Consumer Confidence Index rose to 52.5 in March, as nearly half of the 11 points lost in last month's report were recovered. February saw the worst reading in 10 months at 46.4, which followed a reading of 56.5 in January.
Economists had predicted a reading of 50 for the index in March.
A measure of how the American consumer feels about their current economic situation rose to 26.0 this month from 21.7 in February. Elsewhere, the barometer for how shoppers feel about economic performance over the next six months increased to 70.2 from 62.9.
The number of consumers that believe jobs are currently plentiful rose to 4.4 percent in March from 4.0 percent in the previous month, while the number of people surveyed that said that jobs are hard to get fell to the lowest level since August of last year to 45.8 percent.
The current unemployment rate is at 9.7 percent, and analyst do not see much improvement this year as the economic recovery continues to try to find solid footing. Nonfarm payrolls, expected out this Friday, are expected to rise 184,000. Prior to Novembers positive reading, the nonfarm payrolls metric had not returned growth since early in 2008.
The confidence index is a closely-watched figure as consumer spending accounts for roughly 70 percent of the economic activity in the U.S.
The Consumer Confidence Index rose to 52.5 in March, as nearly half of the 11 points lost in last month's report were recovered. February saw the worst reading in 10 months at 46.4, which followed a reading of 56.5 in January.
Economists had predicted a reading of 50 for the index in March.
A measure of how the American consumer feels about their current economic situation rose to 26.0 this month from 21.7 in February. Elsewhere, the barometer for how shoppers feel about economic performance over the next six months increased to 70.2 from 62.9.
The number of consumers that believe jobs are currently plentiful rose to 4.4 percent in March from 4.0 percent in the previous month, while the number of people surveyed that said that jobs are hard to get fell to the lowest level since August of last year to 45.8 percent.
The current unemployment rate is at 9.7 percent, and analyst do not see much improvement this year as the economic recovery continues to try to find solid footing. Nonfarm payrolls, expected out this Friday, are expected to rise 184,000. Prior to Novembers positive reading, the nonfarm payrolls metric had not returned growth since early in 2008.
The confidence index is a closely-watched figure as consumer spending accounts for roughly 70 percent of the economic activity in the U.S.
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