Consumers’ Confidence Stalled Despite Concerns about the Future

Date:

This pessimism was mostly caused by ongoing inflation, particularly rising food and petrol prices.

The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index stayed practically constant at 104.7 in March, reaching its lowest level since November 2023.

The Present Situation Index increased 3.4 points from 147.6 to 151.0, while the Expectation Situation Index decreased 2.5 points from 76.3 to 73.8.

Historically, an Expectation Index value below 80 has generally predicted a recession within a year.

In March, consumers’ assessments of current business conditions remained mostly unchanged. While the proportion of respondents evaluating business circumstances as ‘excellent’ reduced slightly (0.9 percentage points to 19.5%), the proportion reporting ‘poor’ conditions also decreased (0.5 percentage points to 17.2%).

Meanwhile, consumers had a more positive view of the labor market. The proportion of respondents who said jobs were “plentiful” increased by 0.3 percentage points, while those who said employment were “hard to get” decreased by 1.8 percentage points.

Similarly, consumers were negative about the short term prospects. While the proportion of respondents expecting business conditions to improve grew somewhat (from 14.0% to 14.3%), the proportion expecting conditions to deteriorate also climbed (from 16.9% to 17.6%).

Similarly, employment prospects for the next six months were less positive. The proportion of respondents expecting “more jobs” fell somewhat (0.2 percentage points to 13.9%), while those expecting “fewer jobs” climbed (0.7 percentage points to 18.2%).

Furthermore, the Conference Board observed a rise in the number of respondents wanting to buy a home within six months. In March, the share price rose to 4.9%.

Respondents expecting to buy a newly constructed home remained at 0.3%, while those planning to purchase an older home jumped to 2%.

(Source: Buildradicals.com)


Amazing Builder Partners



Glenn Pierce
Glenn Pierce
Glenn is our New York City correspondent covering home improvement, DIYs, and home renovation reports in New England areas.

Popular

Share post:

More like this
Related

Zoom Drain Establishes a New Franchise Site in Jacksonville, Florida

Zoom Drain, a prominent provider of drain and sewer...

First Coastal Exteriors Joins Beacon

Beacon announced the completion of its acquisition of First...

Colony Hardware Acquires New South Construction Supplies

Jim Sobeck, the owner of New South Construction Supply...

Lennar Introduces New Single-Family Houses and Models in Shearwater

Lennar, one of the nation's leading homebuilders, has recently...

Inflation Remains High as Housing Costs Continue to Rise

Despite a slowing in year-over-year growth, shelter costs continue...

East Texas Hardware Acquired by Nation’s Best

East Texas Hardware has been added to Nation's Best's...

Kodiak Building Partners acquires DHI

Kodiak Building Partners, a building materials distribution acquisition firm...

Accoya USA sets ground on a new facility in Tennessee

Accoya USA LLC started work on its US production...

RoyOMartin invests $9.5M to modernize manufacturing facility in Louisiana

Martco, LLC, the parent company of RoyOMartin, a third-generation,...

Tractor Supply Company Collaborates with Miranda Lambert’s MuttNation Foundation

Tractor Supply Company and Miranda Lambert's MuttNation Foundation, the...

Hillhouse Condos Announces the Pre-sale of Luxury Units on Lake Tuscaloosa, with a July 2024 Completion Date

Hillhouse Condos is excited to announce the pre-sale of...

Diversified Manufacturing of California Acquired by NASL

Diversified Manufacturing of California (DMOC) dba Profile Wrapping, a...

Boise Cascade expands its distribution network in two additional markets.

The Building Materials Distribution branch of Boise Cascade has...

The MITER Foundation raises over $4M for charity

In late September and early October, the MITER Foundation,...

Better Doors and Windows has Joined Forces with Compose Build

Better Doors and Windows, a door and window manufacturing...

Nation’s Best adds Forslund Building Supply

Nation's Best has announced the addition of Forslund Building...