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“Consumer confidence declined for a fifth consecutive month in April, falling to levels not seen since the onset of the COVID pandemic,” said Stephanie Guichard, senior economist, global indicators at the US think tank.
“The decline was largely driven by consumers’ expectations. The three expectation components—business conditions, employment prospects, and future income—all deteriorated sharply, reflecting pervasive pessimism about the future. Notably, the share of consumers expecting fewer jobs in the next six months (32.1 per cent) was nearly as high as in April 2009, in the middle of the Great Recession,” he said in a release from the think tank.
“In addition, expectations about future income prospects turned clearly negative for the first time in five years, suggesting that concerns about the economy have now spread to consumers worrying about their own personal situations. However, consumers’ views of the present have held up, containing the overall decline in the index,” he added.
The think tank’s present situation index—based on consumers’ assessment of current business and labor market conditions—decreased by 0.9 points to 133.5 in April.
The expectations index—based on consumers’ short-term outlook for income, business and labour market conditions—dropped by 12.5 points to 54.4, the lowest level since October 2011 and well below the threshold of 80 that usually signals a recession ahead.
April’s fall in confidence was broad-based across all age groups and most income groups. The decline was sharpest among consumers between 35 and 55 years old, and consumers in households earning more than $125,000 a year.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)