NEW YORK–The monthly consumer confidence index declined for the second straight month in October to 47.7, down from 53.5 in September, according to The Conference Board.
Lynn Franco, director of the board’s Consumer Research Center, said the board’s survey (conducted for the board by TNS and based on a representative sample of 5,000 U.S. households) turned “less favorable” assessments of present-day economic conditions, in particular of the current shape of the jobs market. Franco said the present situation index, which stood at 20.7 in the October survey, is now at its lowest level in 26 years; it was 17.5 in February 1983. The future outlook has also turned more negative than it was in September, with survey respondents saying that labor-market conditions will worsen in the months ahead.
“Consumers also remain quite pessimistic about their future earnings, a sentiment that will likely constrain spending during the holidays,” Franco said.