The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index dipped a bit in April after increasing in March.
The consumer view of current business conditions was mixed in April, according to the Conference Board, with 20.8% of consumers saying business conditions were good, up from 19.6% in March, and, 21.9% of consumers said business conditions were bad, up from 21.4%. As for the labor market, 55.2% of consumers said jobs were plentiful, down from 56.7% as reported the month earlier. And 10.6% of consumers said jobs were hard to get, up from 9.6% in March.
In announcing the numbers, Lynn Franco, senior director of economic indicators at The Conference Board, noted, “The Present Situation Index declined, but remains quite high, suggesting the economy continued to expand in early Q2. Expectations, while still weak, did not deteriorate further amid high prices, especially at the gas pump, and the war in Ukraine. Vacation intentions cooled but intentions to buy big-ticket items like automobiles and many appliances rose somewhat. Still, purchasing intentions are down overall from recent levels as interest rates have begun rising. Meanwhile, concerns about inflation retreated from an all-time high in March but remained elevated. Looking ahead, inflation and the war in Ukraine will continue to pose downside risks to confidence and may further curb consumer spending this year.”
