The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index® Declines

Consumers Less Optimistic About Short-term Outlook

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Nov 25, 2014, 10:00 ET

NEW YORK, Nov. 25, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index®, which had rebounded in October, declined in November. The Index now stands at 88.7 (1985=100), down from 94.1 in October. The Present Situation Index declined from 94.4 to 91.3, while the Expectations Index decreased sharply to 87.0 from 93.8 in October.

The monthly Consumer Confidence Survey®, based on a probability-design random sample, is conducted for The Conference Board by Nielsen, a leading global provider of information and analytics around what consumers buy and watch. The cutoff date for the preliminary results was November 13.

Says Lynn Franco, Director of Economic Indicators at The Conference Board: "Consumer confidence retreated in November, primarily due to reduced optimism in the short-term outlook. Consumers were somewhat less positive about current business conditions and the present state of the job market; moreover, their optimism in the short-term outlook in both areas has waned. However, income expectations were virtually unchanged and gas prices remain low, which should help boost holiday sales."

Consumers' assessment of present-day conditions was moderately less favorable in November than in October. The proportion saying business conditions are "good" decreased from 24.7 percent to 24.0 percent, while those claiming business conditions are "bad" increased from 21.3 percent to 22.4 percent. Consumers' assessment of the job market was slightly less favorable, with the proportion stating jobs are "plentiful" falling from 16.5 percent to 16.0 percent, and those claiming jobs are "hard to get" increasing marginally from 29.0 percent to 29.2 percent.

Consumers' optimism, which had improved in October, retreated in November. The percentage of consumers expecting business conditions to improve over the next six months decreased from 19.4 percent to 17.6 percent, while those expecting business conditions to worsen rose from 8.9 percent to 10.7 percent. Consumers' outlook for the labor market was also less optimistic. Those anticipating more jobs in the months ahead decreased from 16.0 percent to 15.0 percent, while those anticipating fewer jobs rose from 14.1 percent to 16.4 percent. The proportion of consumers expecting growth in their incomes edged down from 16.7 percent to 16.3 percent, while the proportion expecting a drop in income was virtually unchanged at 11.4 percent compared to 11.3 percent in October.

Source:
November 2014 Consumer Confidence Survey^®The Conference Board

About The Conference Board
The Conference Board is a global, independent business membership and research association working in the public interest. Our mission is unique: To provide the world's leading organizations with the practical knowledge they need to improve their performance and better serve society. The Conference Board is a non-advocacy, not-for-profit entity holding 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt status in the United States. www.conference-board.org

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About Nielsen
Nielsen Holdings N.V. (NYSE: NLSN) is a global information and measurement company with leading market positions in marketing and consumer information, television and other media measurement, online intelligence, mobile measurement, trade shows and related properties. Nielsen has a presence in approximately 100 countries, with headquarters in New York, USA and Diemen, the Netherlands. For more information, visit www.nielsen.com.

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SOURCE The Conference Board