Gallup: Americans' Confidence in Economy Ties 2012 Low Point

Wednesday, 05 Sep 2012 07:42 AM

By Forrest Jones





Americans' confidence in their economy has tied a low point not seen since January, a Gallup poll finds.

The Gallup Economic Confidence Index hit minus-27 in August, matching the prior monthly low for the year recorded in January, Gallup reported.

The August reading comes in slightly worse than July's reading of minus-26 and well below May's four-year high of minus-17.

The figure does represent an improvement from August 2011, when the index hit minus-52 at the time lawmakers and the White House waited until the last minute to raise the government's debt ceiling, which nearly threw the country into default.

"Gallup has found waning public confidence in the economy since May, the last month the government reported any improvement — albeit slight, at 8.1 percent for April, down from 8.2 percent in March — in the nation's jobless rate," Gallup reported.

"Since then, the government's unemployment reports have been disappointing, or mixed at best. The decline in confidence seen since May slowed in August, suggesting Americans may be growing accustomed to stagnant job growth."

The unemployment rate rose in July to 8.3 percent from 8.2 percent in June.
Hiring has been spotty while layoffs have offset gains in the labor market.

The economy added a net 163,000 jobs in July, 64,000 jobs in June and 87,000 in May, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Other widely watched indices point to eroding confidence in the U.S. economy.

The Conference Board reported recently that its consumer confidence index dropped to 60.6 in August from 65.4 in July.

"A more pessimistic outlook was the primary reason for this month's decline in confidence. Consumers were more apprehensive about business and employment prospects, but more optimistic about their financial prospects despite rising inflation expectations," Lynn Franco, Director of Economic Indicators at The Conference Board, said in a statement.

"Consumers' assessment of current conditions was virtually unchanged, suggesting no significant pickup or deterioration in the pace of

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