The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index Remains at 17-Year High

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The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index, which had improved in October, increased further in November. The Index now stands at 129.5 (1985=100), up from 126.2 in October. The Present Situation Index increased from 152.0 to 153.9, while the Expectations Index rose from 109.0 last month to 113.3.

The monthly Consumer Confidence Survey, based on a probability-design random sample, is conducted for The Conference Board by Nielsen, a leading global provider of information and analytics around what consumers buy and watch. The cutoff date for the preliminary results was November 14.

"Consumer confidence increased for a fifth consecutive month and remains at a 17-year high (November 2000, 132.6)," said Lynn Franco, Director of Economic Indicators at The Conference Board. "Consumers' assessment of current conditions improved moderately, while their expectations regarding the short-term outlook improved more so, driven primarily by optimism of further improvements in the labor market. Consumers are entering the holiday season in very high spirits and foresee the economy expanding at a healthy pace into the early months of 2018."

Consumers' assessment of current conditions improved moderately in November. The percentage saying business conditions are "good" increased from 34.4% to 34.9%, while those saying business conditions are "bad" declined from 13.5% to 12.7%. Consumers' assessment of the labor market also improved. Those stating jobs are "plentiful" increased from 36.7% to 37.1%, while those claiming jobs are "hard to get" decreased slightly from 17.1% to 16.9%.

Consumers' optimism about the short-term outlook was also more favorable in November. The percentage of consumers expecting business conditions to improve over the next six months increased slightly from 22.1% to 22.4%, while those expecting business conditions to worsen decreased from 7.0% to 6.5%.

Consumers' outlook for the job market was also more upbeat than in October. The proportion expecting more jobs in the months ahead increased from 18.7% to 22.6%, while those anticipating fewer jobs declined from 11.6% to 11.0%. Regarding their short-term income prospects, the percentage of consumers expecting an improvement decreased marginally from 20.3% to 20.1%, while the proportion expecting a decrease was virtually unchanged at 7.6%.

About The Conference Board

The Conference Board is a global, independent business membership and research association working in the public interest. Our mission is unique: To provide the world's leading organizations with the practical knowledge they need to improve their performance and better serve society. Winner of the Consensus Economics 2016 Forecast Accuracy Award (U.S.), The Conference Board is a non-advocacy, not-for-profit entity holding 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt status in the United States.

About Nielsen

Nielsen Holdings plc is a global performance management company that provides a comprehensive understanding of what consumers watch and buy. Nielsen's Watch segment provides media and advertising clients with Total Audience measurement services for all devices on which content — video, audio and text — is consumed. The Buy segment offers consumer packaged goods manufacturers and retailers the industry's only global view of retail performance measurement. By integrating information from its Watch and Buy segments and other data sources, Nielsen also provides its clients with analytics that help improve performance. Nielsen, an S&P 500 company, has operations in over 100 countries, covering more than 90% of the world's population.