Consumer confidence falls among upper income households in June
July 2, 2012
ANN ARBOR, Mich.—Consumer confidence posted a sizable loss in June, with most of the overall decline in how consumers viewed future prospects for the national economy, according to University of Michigan economist Richard Curtin, director of the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers. The surveys, conducted by the U-M Institute for Social Research (ISR), have been monitoring consumer attitudes and expectations for over 60 years.
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“Perhaps of greater importance was that the entire June decline was among households with incomes above $75,000,” Curtin said. “Higher income households were not only less optimistic about economic prospects but viewed their own financial prospects much less favorably.” The percent of upper income households that expected improved finances in the year ahead fell to 24 percent in June from 37 percent in May. Lower income households, in contrast, benefitted to a greater degree from the recent declines in gas prices, which completely offset their less favorable outlook for the economy. View and download chart and table (Excel files). (more…)