Consumers' assessment of the job market was considerably more pessimistic than last month. Those saying jobs are “hard to get” rose to 23.8 percent from 20.6 percent, while those claiming jobs are “plentiful” decreased to 20.6 percent from 23.8 percent.
Consumers' short-term expectations also deteriorated considerably in February. Consumers expecting business conditions to worsen over the next six months increased sharply to 21.4 percent from 16.3 percent, while those anticipating business conditions to improve declined to 9.5 percent from 11.5 percent in January.
The outlook for the labor market was also significantly more pessimistic. Those expecting fewer jobs in the months ahead surged to 27.9 percent from 21.9 percent, while those anticipating more jobs declined to 9.0 percent from 10.5 percent. The proportion of consumers expecting their incomes to increase declined to 17.0 percent from 18.1 percent.
marketing@alchempro.com
