Economic Sentiment Rises Slightly, Remains Below 2016 Average
Economic sentiment among consumers increased slightly during the past two weeks, according to the HPS-CivicScience Economic Sentiment Index (ESI). The ESI’s modest increase of 0.2 points brings the index to 46.5 points, slightly below its 2016 average of 46.9 points.
Among the five indicators that comprise the ESI, consumer confidence in the broader U.S. economy increased the most, jumping 2.4 points to 39.3. This rise brought confidence in the broader economy above its 2016 average of 38.5. Confidence in the housing market and labor market also increased by 1.9 points and 0.5 points, respectively. Consumer confidence in making major purchases decreased the most, falling by 2.3 points to 46.6. Confidence in personal finances also declined, dropping 1.3 points during the reading.
The three-day rolling average remained fairly stable, reaching its trough of 44.7 on August 29, before rallying over the Labor Day weekend. The moving average reached its peak of 48.0 on the holiday Monday, before settling at 47.3 on Tuesday, September 6, the final day of the reading.
The next release of the ESI will be September 20.
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.