Consumers Less Confident in March

Consumer confidence was down in March, surprising experts, and marking the fourth monthly decline since November 2018. The Conference Board's index data show a 5.6 percent decline for the month.

February's data showed a rebound from the ending of the partial government shutdown, but the Present Situation Index fell more than the Expectation Situation Index in March to the lowest reading in the past 11 months, down 12.2 points. The Expectation Situation Index decreased by four points. The National Association of Home Builders reports that consumers' view of current and near-future conditions were weaker in March, citing less business optimism, and weakening favorability in the labor market.

The share of respondents reporting that jobs were “plentiful” decreased by 3.7 percentage points, while those saw jobs as “hard to get” increased by 2 percentage points. The gap between these two shares has narrowed.

The Conference Board suggested that the recent monthly fluctuations in the confidence index were impacted by the volatility in the financial market, partial government shutdown and weak job gains. Though consumers remained confident about ongoing economic expansion, the overall trend of the confidence index has softened, indicating the moderation of economic growth.

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