Consumer confidence held steady in July with The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index remaining at its highest level since February 2020.
“Consumers’ appraisal of present-day conditions held steady, suggesting economic growth in Q3 is off to a strong start,” said Lynn Franco, senior director of economic indicators at The Conference Board. “Consumers’ optimism about the short-term outlook didn’t waver, and they continued to expect that business conditions, jobs, and personal financial prospects will improve.”
Short-term inflation expectations eased slightly, Franco said.
The index’s reading for July stands at 129.1, relatively flat compared to June’s level of 128.9.
In the July survey for the index, 26.4% of consumers said business conditions are “good,” up from 25.2% in June. However, 19.3% of consumers said business conditions are “bad,” up from 19.1% in June.
Looking at the labor market, 54.9% of consumers said jobs are “plentiful” in July compared to 54.7% in June. And 10.5% of consumers said jobs are “hard to get,” unchanged from June.
When asked about the next six months, 27.7% of consumers in July expect more jobs to be available, up from 26.6% when the same question was asked in June. On the other hand, 16.8% anticipate fewer jobs, up from 15.7% who said the same in June.