Impressive job growth and increasing stock prices has been raising consumer confidence as it hit a new high this month.
Consumer Confidence Statistics
The consumer confidence index rose to 85.2 from 83.5 in May according to the Conference Board. That is the highest the index has been since 2008, and economists were expecting a reading of 83.5.
The first quarter saw a slight decrease in the economy for the first time in three years, but the happiness of consumers is directly related to the labor market. Monthly job gains have increased up to 231,000 up from 194,000 in 2013.
The leap in the index is heavily influenced by the outlook of current conditions by consumers. Consumers saying that business conditions are favorable rose to 23% from 21%. In addition, those that said conditions are bad fell to 22.8% from 24.6%.
Perceptions across the nation have also changed. 14.7% of consumers that were surveyed in June felt that jobs were plentiful, up from 14.2% in May. There was a .4% decrease in those that said jobs were harder to get – 31.8% down from 32.2%.
