Consumer confidence posts a significant gain in September
September 28, 2012
Richard Curtin (Photo by D.C. Goings)
ANN ARBOR, Mich.—Consumer confidence improved substantially in September due to more favorable 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.
Consumers expected the economy to create more jobs in the year ahead, according to Curtin. The overall rise in confidence was aided by higher stock prices as well as rising home values. However, the majority of consumers still anticipated very small wage gains, and expected somewhat larger price increases during the year ahead, largely due to rising food prices. This meant that half of all households anticipated declining living standards as their incomes fail to keep pace with inflation. (more…)