Fueled by an optimistic job outlook, the Consumer Confidence Index was helped to climb to its highest level since last April, even approaching a post-recession high, according to the monthly survey taken by The Conference Board.
This was the second month in a row in which the Consumer Confidence Index rose, happily coinciding with a good holiday shopping season. Retailers attracted many shoppers with highly discounted prices to lure them into their shops.
Confidence seems to be rising in conjunction with a generally better outlook for the overall economy. A poll conducted by the Associated Press of three dozen private, corporate and academic economists predicts that there will be an increase in economic growth in 2012, as long as trouble in European economies does not interfere.
“This is encouraging. It’s good to be talking about improvement,” said Mark Vitner, an economist at Wells Fargo. “But there is still a lot of room for trouble.”
The Conference Board is a private research group. According to them the Consumer Confidence Index went up close to 10 points to 64.5 in December. This is an increase from the 55.2 figure of November. This level is not far from the highest post-recession figure of 72 which was attained last February.
Lynn Franco is the director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center. She noted that last summer’s worry that a second recession was looming hurt consumer confidence then.
“While consumers are ending the year in a somewhat more upbeat mood, it is too soon to tell if this is a rebound from earlier declines or a sustainable shift in attitudes,” Franco said. “Have we rebounded from a summer lull or are we turning the corner?”