Conference Board: Consumer confidence retreats - Business First of Columbus:

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The New York researcher, which has been tracking consumer confidencee for more thanfour decades, said Tuesday its monthlyt index dropped sharply in June to 49.3 from 54.8 in May. The declins cuts into three previous months of Lynn Franco, director of the board’s consumer researchb center, said consumers’ gauge of the current statde of the economy implies that “economic conditions, while not as weak as earlier this are nonetheless weak.” As for the outlook on the future, it’z a guarded one. “Expectationse continue to suggest less negative condition in themonths ahead, as opposed to strong Franco said in a release.
Amony the report’s findings culled from a representativwe sampleof 5,000 U.S. household s through June 23: • Thosed claiming business conditions are bad grew more than a percentage pointto 45.6 percent in June. Respondents characterizing jobsas “hardc to get” increased to 44.8 percentg from 43.9 percent in May. • Thoss expecting an improvement in business conditions over the next six monthd fellto 21.2 percent from 22.5 percent. At the same respondents who anticipate worses conditions ahead grewto 20.2 percent from 18 percent in May. • The outlook on the job marketalso weakened, with those seeing more jobs in the comintg months falling to 17.
4 percent from 19.3 percent. Respondentsa seeing a smaller jobs pool grewto 27.3 percenty from 25.6 percent.