The consumer confidence index decreased to 94.2 in April from a revised 96.1 last month, The Conference Board reported Tuesday.
The March index was originally reported as 96.2.
Economists polled by Thomson Reuters predicted a 96.0 reading for the index.
The present situation index rose to 116.4 from a revised 114.9, first reported as 113.5, while the expectations index fell to 79.3 from a revised 83.6, first reported as 84.7.
“Consumer confidence continued on its sideways path, posting a slight decline in April, following a modest gain in March,” said Lynn Franco, director of economic indicators for The Conference Board. “Consumers’ assessment of current conditions improved, suggesting no slowing in economic growth. However, their expectations regarding the short-term have moderated, suggesting they do not foresee any pickup in momentum.”
Business conditions were called “good” by 23.2% of respondents in April, down from 24.9% of respondents in March. Those saying conditions are “bad” slid to 18.1% from 19.2%.
The percentage of consumers expecting a pickup in business conditions in the next half year fell to 13.4% from 14.7%, while 11.0% said they expect conditions to worsen, up from 9.5% in the prior month.
On the jobs front, those who believe jobs are “plentiful” fell to 24.1% in April from 25.4% in March, while the number saying jobs are “hard to get” slipped to 22.7% from 25.2%. The respondents who see fewer jobs becoming available in a half year, grew to 17.2% from 16.3%. Those expecting more jobs to become available declined to 12.2% from 13.0%, The Conference Board reported.
The consumer confidence survey is based on a probability design random sample by the Nielsen Company.
