US consumer confidence ticked up in February on more upbeat prospects for the economy, incomes and job market. The Conference Board’s gauge increased to 91.2, from an upwardly revised 89 last month, data out Tuesday showed. The median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for a reading of 87.1.
A measure of expectations for the next six months climbed by the most since July to 72, while a gauge of present conditions continued to fall. The rise in confidence comes as recent data has indicated the labor market is showing some signs of stabilization and inflation has been relatively tame. However, Americans have been generally cautious about their job prospects and are still dealing with an inflation hangover from the pandemic, which stands to be a major factor in this year’s midterm elections.
“Comments about prices, inflation, and the cost of goods remained at the top of consumers’ minds,” Dana Peterson, chief economist at the Conference Board, said in a statement. “Mentions of trade and politics also increased in February.”
The share of consumers saying jobs were plentiful rose to a three-month high of 28%. At the same time, the share of respondents that said jobs were currently hard to get also climbed.
The difference between these two — a metric closely followed by economists to gauge the job market — widened to 7.4 percentage points.
Source: Bloomberg