US Consumer Confidence Index Continues to Improve in November

On Tuesday, The Conference Board, a non-partisan, not-for-profit think tank founded in 1916, released its Consumer Confidence Survey for November.

• The Consumer Confidence Index® increased to a reading of 111.7 (1985=100) in November, up 2.1 points from 109.6 in October.
• The Present Situation Index—based on consumers’ assessment of current business and labor market conditions—increased to a reading of 140.9 (1985=100) in November, up 4.8 points from 136.1 in October.
• The Expectations Index—based on consumers’ short-term outlook for income, business, and labor market conditions—increased by 0.4 points to a reading of 92.3 in November, well above the threshold of 80 that usually signals a recession ahead.

The cutoff date for the preliminary results was November 18th.

In a statement accompanying the report, The Conference Board’s Chief Economist, Dana Peterson, said:

“Consumer confidence continued to improve in November and reached the top of the range that has prevailed over the past two years. November’s increase was mainly driven by more positive consumer assessments of the present situation, particularly regarding the labor market. Compared to October, consumers were also substantially more optimistic about future job availability, which reached its highest level in almost three years. Meanwhile, consumers’ expectations about future business conditions were unchanged and they were slightly less positive about future income.

The proportion of consumers anticipating a recession over the next 12 months fell further in November and was the lowest since we first asked the question in July 2022. Consumers’ assessments of their Family’s Current Financial Situation fell slightly but optimism for their finances over the next six months reached a new high. (These measures are not included in calculating the Consumer Confidence Index®).”