Consumer Confidence Rebounds Slightly, Remains Below 2016 Average
Consumer confidence rebounded slightly over the past two weeks after sinking to its lowest level of 2016 during the April 5 reading, according to the HPS-CivicScience Economic Sentiment Index (ESI). Reversing a month-long slide, the index increased 0.3 points to 47.1, bringing the ESI to its highest level in a month. The slight jump also brings the ESI to just below its 2016 average of 47.29.
Among the five indicators that comprise the ESI, confidence in the housing market, personal finances, and in making a major purchase all rose, with housing market sentiment experiencing the largest increase. Consumer confidence in the housing market jumped 1.9 points to 53.2, while confidence in personal finances and in making a major purchase increased 1.2 and 0.5 points to 59.3 and 48.7, respectively. Sentiment regarding the broader U.S. economy declined slightly, from 38.9 to 38.4, while consumer confidence in the labor market fell 1.4 points to 35.9. Once again, consumers identified as most confident in their personal finances and least confident in the labor market.
The three-day rolling average experienced an erratic ride over the course of the reading, fluctuating between its minimum of 45.8 and maximum of 48.8 during the two week period. The moving average reached its trough on Sunday, April 10, and its peak on Thursday, April 14, before settling at 46.1 on Tuesday, April 19, the last day of the reading.
The next release of the ESI will be May 3.
About the Index
The HPS-CivicScience Economic Sentiment Index (“ESI”) is a “living” index that measures U.S. adults’ expectations for the economy going forward, as well as their feelings about current conditions for major purchases. The primary goal of the Index is to accurately measure movements in overall national economic sentiment, and to provide a more sophisticated alternative to existing economic sentiment indices. Unlike other prominent indices that release consumer sentiment estimates infrequently, the HPS-CivicScience Index is updated in real time as responses are collected continuously every hour, every day. Large-scale cross-tabulation of survey responses and consumer attributes enable more granular analyses than are currently possible through prevailing measures.
For a more detailed overview of the Index and the underlying methodology, please request a white paper.
About Hamilton Place Strategies (HPS)
Hamilton Place Strategies is a policy, advocacy, and communications consulting firm with a focus and expertise at the intersection of government, business, and media.
For more information, visit Hamilton Place Strategies by clicking here and follow them on Twitter – @HPSInsight.
About CivicScience
CivicScience, Inc. provides the leading intelligent polling and real-time consumer insights platform, the InsightStore™. Its proprietary platform powers the world’s opinions and quickly gets that data to the decision makers who care. Every day, CivicScience polls ask millions of people questions related to thousands of topics, while its powerful data science and big data technology analyzes current consumer opinions, discovers trends as they start, and accurately predicts future behaviors and market outcomes. CivicScience polls run on hundreds of premier websites, in addition to its own public polling site at www.civicscience.com. CivicScience’s InsightStore™ is used by leading enterprises in marketing research, advertising, media, financial services, and political polling. For more information, visit CivicScience by clicking here and follow them on Twitter – @CivicScience.