US consumer confidence rebounds in August

Consumer confidence rebounded in August after July’s decline, rising 10.5 points on the month to 101.5, according to The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index.

The cutoff for responses to this survey was August. 13, a week before the deep plunge in stocks that began last Thursday.

Reflecting the improved assessment of current conditions, the present situation index climbed to 115.1 in August from 104.0 in July.

The report’s “jobs hard-to-get” index dropped to 21.9 versus the upwardly revised figure of 27.4 last month. “Consumers’ assessment of current conditions was considerably more upbeat, primarily due to a more favorable appraisal of the labor market”, Franco said in a statement.

Consumers’ view of the U.S. economy improved this month to the highest level since January, reflecting better feelings about the labor market.

The increase by the index came as consumers saying business conditions are “bad” dipped to 17.6% from 18.2%, although those saying conditions are “good” also edged down to 23.2% from 23.4%. “The rise in consumer confidence adds to the evidence that the outlook for consumption growth in the second half of the year remains healthy”, said Adam Collins, an economist at Capital Economics, to the Associated Press.

The share of respondents anticipating more jobs in the next six months rose to 14.6 % in August from 13.7% in July.

The proportion of consumers who expect their income to increase declined moderately, from 17 percent to 16.2 percent, and the proportion that expects a decline decreased from 11.3 percent to 10 percent. Nielsen has a presence in approximately 100 countries, with headquarters in New York, USA and Diemen, the Netherlands.