Conference Board News Release (02/25/14)

The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index fell moderately from 79.4 in January to 78.1 in February. The decline was driven by the Expectations Index, which dropped from 80.8 to 75.7. The Present Situation Index, by contrast, climbed from 77.3 to 81.7.

Consumers’ appraisal of current conditions improved for the fourth consecutive month. Those claiming business conditions are “good” increased from 20.8% to 21.5%, while those claiming business conditions are “bad” declined from 23.4% to 22.6%. Consumers’ assessment of the labor market also improved. Those claiming jobs are “plentiful” rose from 12.5% to 13.9%, while those saying jobs are “hard to get” decreased slightly from 32.7% to 32.5%.