The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index® Continues to Improve

NEW YORK, June 24, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index^®, which had increased in May, improved again in June. The Index now stands at 85.2 (1985=100), up from 82.2 in May. The Present Situation Index increased to 85.1 from 80.3, while the Expectations Index rose to 85.2 from 83.5 in May.

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 June 13.

Says Lynn Franco, Director of Economic Indicators at The Conference Board: "Consumer confidence continues to advance and the index is now at its highest level since January 2008 (87.3). June's increase was driven primarily by improving current conditions, particularly consumers' assessment of business conditions. Expectations regarding the short-term outlook for the economy and jobs were moderately more favorable, while income expectations were a bit mixed. Still, the momentum going forward remains quite positive."

Consumers' appraisal of current conditions improved in June. Those claiming business conditions are "good" increased to 23.0 percent from 21.1 percent, while those stating business conditions are "bad" decreased to 22.8 percent from 24.6 percent. Consumers' assessment of the job market was also more favorable. Those stating jobs are "plentiful" edged up to 14.7 percent from 14.2 percent, while those claiming jobs are "hard to get" declined to 31.8 percent from 32.2 percent.

Consumers' expectations were generally more positive in June. The percentage of consumers expecting business conditions to improve over the next six months increased to 18.8 percent from 17.7 percent. However, those expecting business conditions to worsen increased to 11.4 percent from 10.7 percent.

Consumers were more positive about the outlook for the labor market. Those anticipating more jobs in the months ahead increased to 16.3 percent from 15.2 percent, while those anticipating fewer jobs edged down to 18.7 percent from 18.9 percent. Fewer consumers expect their incomes to grow, 15.9 percent versus 18.0 percent, but those expecting a drop in their incomes also declined, to 12.1 percent from 14.5 percent.

Source:
June 2014 Consumer Confidence Survey^® 
The Conference Board

About The Conference Board
The Conference Board is a global, independent business membership and research association working in the public interest. Our mission is unique: To provide the world's leading organizations with the practical knowledge they need to improve their performance and better serve society. The Conference Board is a non-advocacy, not-for-profit entity holding 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt status in the United States. www.conference-board.org

Follow The Conference Board
Twitter | Facebook | LinkedIn

About Nielsen
Nielsen Holdings N.V. (NYSE: NLSN) is a global information and measurement company with leading market positions in marketing and consumer information, television and other media measurement, online intelligence, mobile measurement, trade shows and related properties. Nielsen has a presence in approximately 100 countries, with headquarters in New York, USA and Diemen, the Netherlands. For more information, visit www.nielsen.com.

SOURCE The Conference Board