The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index Decreased in June

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Jun 26, 2018, 10:00 ET

NEW YORK, June 26, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index^® decreased in June, following an increase in May. The Index now stands at 126.4 (1985=100), down from 128.8 in May. The Present Situation Index was relatively flat, 161.1 versus 161.2 last month, while the Expectations Index declined from 107.2 last month to 103.2 this month.

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 June 15.

"Consumer confidence declined in June after improving in May," said Lynn Franco, Director of Economic Indicators at The Conference Board. "Consumers' assessment of present-day conditions was relatively unchanged, suggesting that the level of economic growth remains strong. While expectations remain high by historical standards, the modest curtailment in optimism suggests that consumers do not foresee the economy gaining much momentum in the months ahead."

Consumers' appraisal of current conditions was relatively unchanged in June. The percentage stating business conditions are "good" decreased from 38.6 percent to 36.0 percent, while those saying business conditions are "bad" also decreased, from 12.6 percent to 11.7 percent. Consumers' assessment of the labor market was also mixed. The percentage of consumers claiming jobs are "plentiful" decreased from 42.1 percent to 40.0 percent, but those claiming jobs are "hard to get" also decreased, from 15.6 percent to 14.9 percent.

Consumers' optimism about the short-term outlook eased in June. The percentage of consumers anticipating business conditions will improve over the next six months decreased from 23.3 percent to 21.4 percent, while those expecting business conditions will worsen rose from 7.8 percent to 9.8 percent. Consumers' outlook for the labor market, however, was slightly more favorable. The proportion expecting more jobs in the months ahead increased marginally, from 19.7 percent to 20.0 percent, while those anticipating fewer jobs decreased, from 13.1 percent to 12.6 percent. Regarding their short-term income prospects, the percentage of consumers expecting an improvement declined, from 21.4 percent to 18.8 percent, while the proportion expecting a decrease rose from 8.0 percent to 8.7 percent.

Source: June 2018 Consumer Confidence Survey^®

The Conference Board publishes the Consumer Confidence Index^®, at 10 a.m. ET on the last Tuesday of every month. Subscription information and the technical notes to this series are available on The Conference Board website: https://www.conference-board.org/data/consumerdata.cfm.

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. Winner of the Consensus Economics 2016 Forecast Accuracy Award (U.S.), 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

ABOUT NIELSEN
Nielsen Holdings plc (NYSE: NLSN) is a global performance management company that provides a comprehensive understanding of what consumers watch and buy. Nielsen's Watch segment provides media and advertising clients with Total Audience measurement services for all devices on which content — video, audio and text — is consumed. The Buy segment offers consumer packaged goods manufacturers and retailers the industry's only global view of retail performance measurement. By integrating information from its Watch and Buy segments and other data sources, Nielsen also provides its clients with analytics that help improve performance. Nielsen, an S&P 500 company, has operations in over 100 countries, covering more than 90 percent of the world's population. For more information, visit www.nielsen.com.

SOURCE The Conference Board