Consumer confidence soured in May, as Americans worried about the future of the economy and the outlook for jobs. A widely watched barometer of sentiment fell sharply, the most since hurricanes pummeled the Gulf Coast last year, increasing concern about future retail spending.þþThe Conference Board said yesterday that its consumer confidence index fell almost 7 points, to 103.2, from a revised reading of 109.8 in April. Still, the May index was better than the 100.9 expected by analysts.þþThe decline interrupted a rebound in the index that had been going on since November, after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. þþÿConsumer confidence, which reached a four-year high in April, lost ground in May,ÿ Lynn Franco, director of the Conference Board Consumer Research Center, based in New York, said in a statement. ÿApprehension about the short-term outlook for the economy, the labor market and consumers' earning potential has driven the expectations index down to levels not seen since the aftermath of the hurricanes.ÿþþStill, Ms. Franco said, consumers rate current conditions favorably.þþThe expectations index, which measures consumers' outlook over the next six months, fell to 83.7 in May from 92.3 in April. The proportion of consumers expecting their incomes to rise in the months ahead fell to the lowest level in three years, the survey showed. The present situation index, which measures how people feel now about economic conditions, slipped to 132.5 from 136.2.þþThose expecting that more jobs will become available in the next few months declined to 14.6 percent from 15.4 percent in April. Those expecting fewer jobs rose to 18.2 percent from 16.3 percent. The share of people expecting their incomes to rise in the months ahead fell to 16.6 percent from 18 percent, the lowest level since 15.9 percent in July 2003.þ
Source: NY Times
