Consumers in New England and nationally are feeling less confident about economic conditions going into the new year.
The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index, which is considered a leading economic indicator in the U.S., now stands at 128.1, down from 136.4 in November. It’s the second month in a row the confidence index has decline.
However, the confidence index is slightly higher on a year basis, up from 122.1 in December of last year.
The Consumer Confidence Index for the six-state New England region fell by 11.53 percent in December to 109.
The monthly Consumer Confidence Survey is based on a probability-design random sample, and is conducted for The Conference Board by Nielsen.
“Consumer Confidence decreased in December, following a moderate decline in November,” Lynn Franco, senior director of economic indicators at The Conference Board, said in a statement. “Expectations regarding job prospects and business conditions weakened, but still suggest that the economy will continue expanding at a solid pace in the short-term. While consumers are ending 2018 on a strong note, back-to-back declines in expectations are reflective of an increasing concern that the pace of economic growth will begin moderating in the first half of 2019.”
The Conference Board’s Present Situation Index, based on consumers’ assessment of current business and labor market conditions, declined slightly in December from 172.7 to 171.6.
The Expectations Index, based on consumers’ short-term outlook for income, business and labor market conditions, decreased from 112.3 last month to 99.1 this month.
Consumers’ assessment of current conditions declined slightly in December. The percentage of consumers saying business conditions are “good” decreased from 42 percent to 37.2 percent, while those claiming business conditions are “bad” increased from 10.7 percent to 11.3 percent.
Consumers’ assessment of the labor market was mixed. Those claiming jobs are “plentiful” decreased marginally from 46.8 percent to 46.2 percent, while those claiming jobs are “hard to get” declined from 12.6 percent to 11.6 percent.
