Consumer Confidence: Present Situation Runs to 17-year Record

Bottom Line: Led by consumer's assessments of their present situations, the Consumer Confidence index rose further in November after eclipsing cycle highs in October. Labor markets are behind some of the strong confidence as those stating jobs were "plentiful" rose, while those stating jobs were "hard to get" fell. 6-month forward outlooks continued to strengthen, with this component of the survey eclipsing the highs seen earlier this year. Consumer Confidence ROSE by 3.3 points in November to 129.5, compared with market expectations for a decline to 124.0. The index is now 18.4% ABOVE its year ago level. Present Situation Index ROSE by 1.9 points to 153.9. The index is 16.6% ABOVE its year ago level. The Expectations Index ROSE by 4.2 points to 113.3. The index is 20.0% ABOVE its year ago level. The labor differential, the percentage of respondents who said jobs are “hard to get” from the percentage who said jobs are “plentiful” , moved lower by 57.8 points to -39.0.