Survey: Consumer confidence down

New York City The latest Consumer Confidence Index, released Tuesday, from The Conference Board reported that consumer confidence has dropped for the second straight month.

In July, the index fell to 46.6 in July, from 49.3 in June.

The Consumer Confidence Index, based on the Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Survey, consists of the Present Situation Index, which decreased from adjusted score of 25 in June to 23.4 in July, and the Expectations Index, which decreased from 65.5 in June to 62 in July.

The percentage of consumers rating current business conditions as “bad” increased from an adjusted 45.3% in June to 46.3% in July although the percentage rating current business conditions as “good” increased from an adjusted 8.1% to 9.1.

The percentage of consumers who think jobs are hard to get increased from 44.8% to 48.1, while those who think jobs are “plentiful” decreased from 4.5% to 3.6%.

The percentage of consumers anticipating an improvement in business conditions during the next six months decreased from an adjusted 20.9% to 18%. In addition, those expecting conditions to worsen also decreased from an adjusted 20.4% to 18.9%.

Consumers had a mixed view of the short-term future of the labor market. The percentage of consumers expecting more jobs in the months ahead decreased to an adjusted 17.5% to 15%, while those expecting fewer jobs decreased as well, from an adjusted 27.6% to 26.3%.

Lynn Franco, director of the Conference Board Consumer Research Center, said the most recent consumer confidence figures demonstrate continuing weakness in the U.S. economy.

“Consumer confidence, which had rebounded strongly in late spring, has faded in the last two months,” said Franco. “The decline in the Present Situation Index was caused primarily by a worsening job market. The decline in the Expectations Index was more the result of an increase in the proportion of consumers expecting no change in business and labor market conditions.”

More consumers are pessimistic about their income expectations, which does not bode well for spending in the months ahead, added Franco.