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RAPAPORT... The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index® rose to 83 points (1985=100) in May, up 6.8 points from one year ago. The Present Situation Index increased 13.7 points to 80.4 and the Expectations Index edged up 2.4 points to 84.8. Lynn Franco, the director of economic indicators at The Conference Board, observed that the labor market appeared to be more favorable in May, providing a boost to U.S. consumer confidence. "Expectations regarding the short-term outlook for the economy, jobs and personal finances were also more upbeat. In fact, the percentage of consumers expecting their incomes to grow over the next six months is the highest since December 2007 (20.2 percent)." The percentage of consumers’ stating that business conditions were “good” in May represented 21.1 percent of survey respondents, while those stating business conditions were “bad” accounted for 24.1 percent. One year ago, 18.8 percent felt conditions were good and 26 percent stated that conditions were bad. Those who claimed that jobs were “plentiful” this month totaled 14.1 percent, while those claiming jobs were “hard to get” amounted to 32.3 percent. In May 2013, 10.8 percent claimed that jobs were plentiful and 36.1 percent felt that jobs were hard to find.
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