US consumer confidence at late 2000 highs in October, Conference Board says
US consumer spirits continued to be the most buoyant since late 2000, with Americans not yet eyeing a slowdown in economic growth anytime soon.
The Conference Board's US consumer confidence index climbed from a reading of 135.3 for September to 137.9 in October.
The headline index improved from a reading of 135.3 for September to reach 137.9 for this month, with the sub-index tracking the 'present situation' improving from 169.4 to 172.8 while that linked to consumers' expectations rose from 112.5 to 114.6.
According to Lynn Franco, it was the solid US jobs market that was behind consumers' rosy assessment of current conditions.
Thus, the proportion of consumers claiming that jobs were more plentiful jumped from 44.1% in the month before to 5.9%, even as those who said they were harder to get decreased from 14.1% to 13.2%.
American's outlook for the labour market was more "mixed", the think-tank said.
So while the proportion anticipating fewer jobs to be available in the months ahead declined from 11.4% to 10.5%, those who believed there would be more jobs slipped from 22.1% to 21.9%.
Franco added: "The Expectations Index posted another gain in October, suggesting that consumers do not foresee the economy losing steam anytime soon. Rather, they expect the strong pace of growth to carry over into early 2019."