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RAPAPORT... The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index® jumped 21 percent year on year to 82.3 points in April, while the Present Situation Index rose 30 percent to 78.3 points and the Expectations Index was up 16 percent to 84.9.
Nonetheless, consumer confidence measurements declined slightly from the readings in March, as shoppers assessed current business and labor market conditions a little less favorably in April, according to Lynn Franco, the director of economic indicators at The Conference Board. “However, their expectations regarding the short-term outlook for the economy and labor market held steady. Thus, while sentiment regarding current conditions may have slipped a bit (from March), consumers do not foresee the economy, or the labor market, losing the momentum that has been building up over the past several months,” she said. Those claiming business conditions were “good” in April stood at 21.8 percent, while those claiming business conditions were “bad” accounted for 24.4 percent. Those consumers who stated jobs were “plentiful” accounted for 12.9 percent of the population, however, those saying that jobs were “hard to get” represented 32.5 percent of the total.
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