The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index® Improves

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Apr 30, 2013, 10:00 ET

NEW YORK, April 30, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index^®, which had declined in March, increased in April. The Index now stands at 68.1 (1985=100), up from 61.9 in March. The Present Situation Index increased to 60.4 from 59.2. The Expectations Index improved to 73.3 from 63.7 last 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 April 18.

Says Lynn Franco, Director of Economic Indicators at The Conference Board: "Consumer Confidence improved in April, as consumers' expectations about the short-term economic outlook and their income prospects improved. However, consumers' confidence has been challenged several times over the past few months by such events as the fiscal cliff, the payroll tax hike and the sequester. Thus, while expectations appear to have bounced back, it is too soon to tell if confidence is actually on the mend."

Consumers' assessment of current conditions improved moderately in April. Those saying business conditions are "good" increased to 17.2 percent from 16.4 percent, while those stating business conditions are "bad" decreased to 28.1 percent from 29.1 percent. Consumers' assessment of the labor market was mixed. Those claiming jobs are "plentiful" edged up to 9.8 percent from 9.5 percent, however those claiming jobs are "hard to get" increased to 37.1 percent from 35.4 percent.

Consumers were considerably more upbeat about the short-term outlook. The percentage of consumers expecting business conditions to improve over the next six months increased to 16.9 percent from 15.0 percent, while those anticipating business conditions to worsen decreased to 15.1 percent from 17.7 percent.

Consumers' outlook for the labor market was also more positive. Those expecting more jobs in the months ahead improved to 14.2 percent from 13.0 percent, while those expecting fewer jobs decreased to 22.4 percent from 26.0 percent. The proportion of consumers expecting their incomes to increase rose to 16.8 percent from 14.6 percent, while those expecting a decrease declined to 16.0 percent from 17.7 percent.

Source:
April 2013 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

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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