Category: Information and Insights

Consumers turned more optimistic over the past two weeks with confidence soaring above 50, nearly a three point jump. This is the highest the HPS-Civic Science Index has reported over the past two years, passing the previous high from May 2013 of 49.3. The recent gains coincide with the drop in oil prices, which were… Continue reading Consumers Turn More Optimistic As Confidence Soars Above 50

Consumer confidence dropped nearly two points, from 49.2 to 47.5, following a surge in the HPS-CivicScience Economic Sentiment Index (ESI) two weeks ago. Notably, the price of oil dropped below $70 a barrel at the start of the week in the wake of OPEC’s announcement that it will maintain current production levels. The sudden drop in… Continue reading Consumer Confidence Dips, But Falling Oil Prices Expected To Boost Confidence

For the second week in a row, the HPS-CivicScience Economic Sentiment Index surged upward due to a 4.3 point rise in confidence in the national economy. In the last two weeks of October, consumer confidence surged up nearly two points to 48.3, and over the past two weeks it continued to increase by nearly a point to… Continue reading Consumer Confidence In The National Economy Spikes

Consumer confidence jumped nearly two points from two weeks ago, increasing from 46.5 to a 2014 high of 48.3 according to the HPS-CivicScience Economic Sentiment Index. With growth across all five components of the index, the ESI reached its highest point since June 2013, breaking free from its seven-month long stay at around 46. The… Continue reading Consumer Confidence Surges Upward

Consumer confidence dipped down nearly a full point over the past two weeks from 47.5 to 46.6, according to the latest two-week moving average from the HPS-CivicScience Economic Sentiment Index (ESI). After the slight bump two weeks ago, it appears consumer confidence is returning back to its seven-month trend of around 46. Noteworthy, despite declines and volatility… Continue reading Consumer Confidence Dips Slightly, But Remains At A 4-Month High

Consumer confidence bumped up in the past couple of weeks, increasing to 47.5 from 46.4, according to the latest data from the HPS-CivicScience Economic Sentiment Index (ESI). Given the consistency of the index, it is unclear whether this increase represents a departure from the ESI’s six-month trend. At the same time, September’s strong jobs month… Continue reading Consumer Confidence Rises Slightly

View the entire report here. With increased attention given to rising student debt levels, the question “Is college worth it?” is being asked more and more. To help answer this question, we examined the impact of both education levels and student debt on individuals’ economic confidence, using the HPS-CivicScience Economic Sentiment Index (ESI).

Consumer confidence showed a slight improvement over the past two weeks, rising slightly to 46.4, according to the most recent data from the HPS-CivicScience Economic Sentiment Index (ESI). This continues a six-month long trend, which has kept confidence consistently up from last year in recent months.

While August payrolls disappointed — coming in at only 142,000 compared to expectations of 225,000 — consumer confidence in the labor market jumped to a five-month high of 36.9 over the last two weeks. However, consumer confidence dipped slightly overall from 46.3 to 45.7, according to the latest data from the HPS-CivicScience Economic Sentiment Index… Continue reading Despite A Disappointing Job Month, Labor Market Confidence Jumps Almost 3 Points To A 5-Month High

Consumer confidence edged up slightly to 46.3 over the past two weeks, according to the HPS-CivicScience Economic Sentiment Index (ESI). The index, which has not fluctuated beyond a two-point range of 45.5 to 47.5 since mid-March, has been remarkably stable, possibly reflecting an economy that has consistently added 200k plus jobs every month during this time… Continue reading Consumer Confidence Remains In Limbo After Slight Uptick