Consumer confidence held steady in March, with a slight blip upward halting three months of declines as slivers of hopes about the economy buoyed consumers. But Americans are still feeling gloomy about their future given mounting layoffs and shrinking earnings.
The New York-based Conference Board says its Consumer Confidence Index rose to 26.0 in March from a revised 25.3 reading in February, which was itself a big drop from 37.4 in January. The slight rise followed three consecutive monthly drops. But the reading came in below the 28 expected by economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters, and remains less than half of its level of 65.9 last March.
How people feel about their current economic circumstances, known as the Present Situation Index, slipped to 21.5 from 22.3 last month. Their assessment about the economy over the next six months, or the Expectations Index, rose to 28.9 from 27.3 in February. Despite the slight improvement in that reading, many economists believe that a recovery is not near, and people continue to worry about what’s ahead.
