In August, American consumers felt more confident and their outlook for the future improved.
The Conference Board, a business research group, said Tuesday its consumer confidence index rose to 103.3 in August from 101.9 in July.
The index measures Americans’ assessment of current economic conditions and their outlook for the next six months.
The gauge of Americans’ short-term expectations for income, business and the labor market rose to 82.5. The July reading was revised up to 81.1 from an initial reading of 78.2, ending a five-month streak below 80. A reading below 80 can signal a possible recession in the near future.
Consumers’ view of current conditions rose to 134.4 in August from 133.1 last month.
Consumer spending accounts for nearly 70% of U.S. economic activity and is closely watched by economists for signs of how the American consumer is feeling.
While all of the report’s headline numbers improved slightly from July, consumers still have mixed feelings about the economy.
“While still positive, consumers’ assessment of the current job situation continued to weaken and their assessment of the labor market going forward became more pessimistic,” said Dana Peterson, chief economist at the Conference Board.
Peterson said that pessimistic view was likely fueled by the July jobs report, which showed slowing labor market growth and a rise in the unemployment rate, which hit 4.3 percent.
In addition to the weak July jobs data, the government reported last week that the U.S. economy added 818,000 fewer jobs from April 2023 through March of this year than originally reported. The revised total added to evidence that the labor market has been steadily slowing.
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