If you are without a job and looking for one, do you sense that you’ll be able to find one in the next 3-4 months? With nearly 100 million Americans not even participating in the labor force, it can be easy to blame a bad economy for the exceedingly difficult time Americans are having finding a job.
But there’s one group of economic experts who say there’s good reason to believe unemployment numbers could decrease dramatically by the start of the year because:
Consumer confidence is at a 7-year high.
Consumer confidence is at a seven-year high.
The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index rebounded from September to stand at 94.5, beating estimates. Economists forecasted consumer confidence to hit 87 in October.
In September, the Index stood at 89.
Sentiment has improved amid job gains and cheap gasoline prices, both of which can help increase consumers’ purchasing power that can lead to economic growth. The U.S. created 248,000 jobs in September and the unemployment rate dropped to 5.9 percent as the labor force participation rate fell to 62.7 percent.
The monthly Consumer Confidence Survey follows what consumers buy and watch. It is conducted by Nielsen for The Conference Board.
“Consumer confidence, which had declined in September, rebounded in October. A more favorable assessment of the current job market and business conditions contributed to the improvement in consumers’ view of the present situation,” said Lynn Franco, Director of Economic Indicators at The Conference Board.
But what this story doesn’t say is that hidden in the Conference Board’s report is the fact that consumers are confident…because of an ‘assumption’ that jobs will be created at an accelerating rate over the next 4-6 months. Listen as I go into more detail:
Highlight: Confidence…in an assumption
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