Consumer Confidence Rebounds Again in April After Slight Decline

The Conference Board said the Consumer Confidence Index increased to 128.7 (1985=100), up from 127.0 in March after a slight decline in March. The Present Situation Index increased from 158.1 to 159.6, while the Expectations Index improved from 106.2 last month to 108.1 this month.

“Consumer confidence increased moderately in April after a decline in March,” said Lynn Franco, Director of Economic Indicators at The Conference Board. “Consumers’ assessment of current conditions improved somewhat, with consumers rating both business and labor market conditions quite favorably.”

The monthly survey is based on a probability-design random sample and 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 12.

Consumers’ views of their current conditions improved in April, but with mixed results. While the percentage saying business conditions are “good” fell from 37.6% to 35.2%, so did those claiming business conditions are “bad,” from 13.3% to 11.3%, respectively.

Consumers’ views of the labor market were somewhat mixed, but also more positive.

The percentage of consumers claiming jobs are “plentiful” fell from 39.5% to 38.1%, while those claiming jobs are “hard to get” also decreased from 15.7% to 15.2%.

However, consumers were more positive about the short-term outlook in April, something that took a hit amid the media fear-stoking over a tariff-induced trade war.

The percentage of consumers anticipating business conditions will improve over the next six months increased from 23.2% to 24.5%. Those expecting business conditions to worsen fell from 10.2% to 9.7%.

The proportion expecting more jobs in the months ahead increased from 18.9% to 19.5%, while those anticipating fewer jobs remained at 12.5%. Regarding their short-term income prospects, the percentage of consumers expecting an improvement was virtually unchanged at 23.1%, while the proportion expecting a decrease declined from 7.2% to 6.8%.

“Consumers’ short-term expectations also improved, with the percent of consumers expecting their incomes to decline over the coming months reaching its lowest level since December 2000 (6.0%),” Ms. Franco added. “Overall, confidence levels remain strong and suggest that the economy will continue expanding at a solid pace in the months ahead.”

The Conference Board publishes the Consumer Confidence Index at 10 a.m. ET on the last Tuesday of every month.