TEXT E Job worries helped push
consumer confidence down in September for the second consecutive month. The
Consumer Confidence Index fell 1.9 points to 96.8 from a revised reading of 98.7
in August, according to the Conference Board. Analysts had expected a reading of
99.5. "The recent declines in the index were caused primarily by
a deterioration in consumers’ assessment of employment conditions," said Lynn
Franco, director of the organization’s Consumer Research Center. "Soft labor
market conditions have clearly taken a toll on consumer confidence. Still,
expectations for the next six months are virtually unchanged from August."
Economists closely track consumer confidence because consumer spending accounts
for two-thirds of all U. S. economic activity. Consumer
confidence, which was as high as 144.7 in May 2000 when the job market was
flourishing, has been volatile since the economy emerged from recession in
November 2001. It reached its lowest point in March 2003 at 64.4 with the U. S.
-led invasion of Iraq, but then experienced a gradual but inconsistent
improvement as the job market recovery has remained tenuous, according to
Franco. It was 105. 7 in July. The Present Situation Index, one component of the
consumer confidence reading, fell to 95.5 from 100.7 in August. The Expectations
Index, which measures consumers’ outlook over the next six months, edged up to
97.6 compared with 97.3 last month. The Conference Board’s
indexes were derived from responses received to a survey mailed to 5,000
households in a consumer research panel. The figures released Tuesday include
responses from at least 2,500 households. The figures for August were revised
after all the surveys were tabulated. Consumers’ assessment of
overall present-day conditions was mixed. Those saying that business conditions
are "good" edged up to 23.6 percent from 23 percent. Those claiming conditions
are "bad" remained flat at 20.3 percent, compared to 20.2 percent last month.
the job situation was less favorable than in August. Consumers saying jobs are
"plentiful" declined to 16.8 percent from 18.4 percent. Those claiming jobs are
"hard to get" rose to 28.3 percent from 26.0 percent in August.
Consumers’ outlook for the next six months is relatively unchanged. Those
anticipating conditions to worsen in the next six months increased to 9.4
percent from 8.8 percent. But those expecting business conditions to improve
increased to 21.4 percent from 20.2 percent last month. The
employment outlook for the next six months was also mixed. Consumers expecting
fewer jobs increased to 16.1 percent from 15.1 percent, while those anticipating
more jobs to become available rose to 17.7 percent from 16.3 percent. The
proportion of consumers expecting their incomes to improve in the months ahead
edged up to 20.0 percent from 19.7 percent last month. This passage is most probably authored by ______.