Those saying conditions are “bad” increased to 20.0 percent from 18.9 percent. Consumers' assessment of the job market was also less positive.
Those saying jobs are “hard to get” rose to 23.5 percent from 21.4 percent, while those claiming jobs are “plentiful” declined to 22.7 percent from 23.3 percent in November.
Consumers' short-term expectations, while reversing a four-month slide, remain at levels that bear watching. Those expecting business conditions to worsen in the next six months decreased to 14.1 percent from 16.6 percent. Those anticipating business conditions to improve increased to 13.8 percent from 12.4 percent.
The outlook for the labor market was also less pessimistic. The percent of consumers expecting more jobs in the months ahead inched up to 11.2 percent from 10.6 percent, while those anticipating fewer jobs edged down to 19.9 percent from 22.8 percent.
The proportion of consumers expecting their incomes to increase in the months ahead decreased to 19.0 percent from 19.4 percent.
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