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RAPAPORT... Consumer confidence in the U.S. rose 8 percent year on year to 86 points (1985=100) in September, according to The Conference Board. However, the Consumer Confidence Index® fell 7.4 points from the reading in August. Meanwhile, the Present Situation Index in September jumped to 89.4 points from 73.2 points one year ago and the Expectations Index declined 0.4 points to 83.7 points. Lynn Franco, the director of economic indicators at The Conference Board, explained that U.S. consumer confidence retreated slightly during September -- following four consecutive monthly increases -- due primarily to a softening job market. “Looking ahead, consumers were less confident about the short term outlook for the economy and labor market, and somewhat mixed regarding their future earnings potential. All told, consumers expect economic growth to ease in the months ahead,” Franco said. The Conference Board's monthly survey concluded that 23.4 percent of consumers felt as though business conditions were "good," which was up from 19.5 percent one year ago, while 21.3 percent claimed that business conditions were "bad," compared with 23.9 percent who felt that way in September 2013. In terms of job sentiment in September, 17.6 percent of consumers believed that jobs were "plentiful," up from 11.5 percent one year ago, while 30.1 percent stated that jobs were "hard to get" and that figure was down 2.6 percentage points compared with 12 months ago.
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