Current economy at 26-year low!
NEW YORK - October 27, 2009 - A key measure of consumer confidence continued to slip in October, with consumers' gauge of the current economic situation falling to a 26-year low, a research group said Tuesday.
The Conference Board Consumer Research Center (CBCRC), a New York-based research group, said its Consumer Confidence Index fell to 47.7 in October from an upwardly revised 53.4 in September.
Economists were expecting the index to increase to 53.5, according to a Briefing.com consensus survey. The figure, which is based on a survey of 5,000 U.S. households, is closely watched because consumer spending makes up two-thirds of the nation's economic activity.
The index component that evaluates consumers' judgment of the present situation dipped to 20.7 in October, the lowest since the 17.5 measured in February 1983. It stood at 23 in September.
"Consumers' (evaluations) of the present-day conditions have grown less favorable, with labor market conditions playing a major role in this grimmer assessment," said Lynn Franco, director of the CBCRC.
Employers continued to cut jobs from their payrolls in September, as the unemployment rate rose to 9.8% and hit another 26-year high in September, according to a report from the Labor Department issued earlier this month.
The Conference Board Consumer Research Center (CBCRC), a New York-based research group, said its Consumer Confidence Index fell to 47.7 in October from an upwardly revised 53.4 in September.
Economists were expecting the index to increase to 53.5, according to a Briefing.com consensus survey. The figure, which is based on a survey of 5,000 U.S. households, is closely watched because consumer spending makes up two-thirds of the nation's economic activity.
The index component that evaluates consumers' judgment of the present situation dipped to 20.7 in October, the lowest since the 17.5 measured in February 1983. It stood at 23 in September.
"Consumers' (evaluations) of the present-day conditions have grown less favorable, with labor market conditions playing a major role in this grimmer assessment," said Lynn Franco, director of the CBCRC.
Employers continued to cut jobs from their payrolls in September, as the unemployment rate rose to 9.8% and hit another 26-year high in September, according to a report from the Labor Department issued earlier this month.
