The consumer confidence index slid to 97.6 in October from a revised 102.6 last month, The Conference Board reported Tuesday.
The September index was originally reported as 103.0.
Economists polled by Thomson Reuters predicted a 102.9 reading for the index.
The present situation index slumped to 112.1 from a revised 120.3, first reported as 121.1, while the expectations index fell to 88.0 from a revised 90.8, first reported as 91.0.
“Consumer confidence declined in October, following September’s modest gain,” said Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board's economic indicators. “Consumers were less positive in their assessment of present-day conditions, in particular the job market, and were moderately less optimistic about the short-term outlook. Despite the decline, consumers still rate current conditions favorably, but they do not anticipate the economy strengthening much in the near-term.”
Business conditions were called “good” by 26.5% of respondents in October, off from 28.1% in September. Those saying conditions are “bad” grew to 18.3% from 16.4%.
The percentage of consumers expecting a pickup in business conditions in the next half year held at 18.1% from 15.3%, while 10.6% said they expect conditions to worsen, up from 10.4% in the prior month.
On the jobs front, those who believe jobs are “plentiful” slipped to 22.2% in October from 24.8% in September, while the number saying jobs are “hard to get” rose to 25.8% from 24.9%. The respondents who see fewer jobs becoming available in a half year, increased to 16.9% from 15.9%. Those expecting more jobs to become available dipped to 14.5% from 14.9%, The Conference Board reported.
The consumer confidence survey is based on a probability design random sample by the Nielsen Company.
