Consumers Expect Business to Improve, Survey Finds

NEW YORK —  American consumers’ assessment of current economic conditions is up and expectations remain positive about the next six months, according to a survey released Monday.

More than 20% of 5,000 households nationwide surveyed in May by the Conference Board said they anticipate that business conditions will improve in the next six months. That was up from 17% a month earlier.

Thirty percent of those surveyed said they believe that current business conditions are “good,” a slight rise from the April survey. Despite an increase in unemployment, 34.5% of respondents said they believe that jobs are “plentiful,” the same as in April.

The number of people expecting more jobs to become available increased to 19% from 15.4%, but there was also an increase in the number of people who expect the reverse to happen, to 15% from 13%.

‘Reassuring’ Sign

“The fact that consumer confidence has remained strong, despite signs of a slowing economy, is reassuring,” Fabian Linden, executive director of the board’s Consumer Research Center, said in a statement.

“Consumers, who are evidently in the first instance wage earners, have always been quick to sense oncoming recession,” he said. “But there are none of the indications in recent survey readings that generally signal troubles ahead.”

The board’s monthly consumer confidence index gained one point to 117.8, with 1985 equaling 100, down from 120.2 a year ago.

The Conference Board is a nonprofit business network that provides information and management and economic research for business leaders worldwide.