The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index Declines in May

The Conference Board, a non-partisan, not-for-profit think tank founded in 1916, released Tuesday (5-30-23) its Consumer Confidence Index® (CCI) for May. The CCI Index declined in May to a reading of 102.3 (1985=100), down from an upwardly revised April reading of 103.7

The Present Situation Index—based on consumers’ assessment of current business and labor market conditions—decreased in May to a reading of 148.6 (1985=100), down from April’s reading of 151.8.

The Expectations Index—based on consumers’ short-term outlook for income, business, and labor market conditions—declined to a reading of 71.5 (1985=100) in May, down from April’s reading of 71.7. The Conference Board notes that The Expectation Index has been below 80—the level associated with a recession within the next year—every month since February 2022, with the exception of a brief uptick in December 2022.

Adding additional background and his analysis to the release of the CCI for May, Dr. Ataman Ozyildirim, Senior Director of Economics at the Conference Board, said:

“Consumer confidence declined in May as consumers’ view of current conditions became somewhat less upbeat while their expectations remained gloomy. Their assessment of current employment conditions saw the most significant deterioration, with the proportion of consumers reporting jobs are ‘plentiful’ falling 4 ppts from 47.5 percent in April to 43.5 percent in May. Consumers also became more downbeat about future business conditions, weighing on the expectation index. However, expectations for jobs and incomes over the next six month held relatively steady. While consumer confidence has fallen across all age and income categories over the past three months, May’s decline reflects a particularly notable worsening in the outlook among consumers over 55 years of age.”