Consumer confidence in the US fell more than expected in September, falling to 48.5 on the Conference Board’s index compared to 53.2 in August. A survey of economists had predicted a smaller decline to 52.1. There is little doubt that unemployment, expected to remain above 9 percent well into 2011, is the primary factor contributing to the sharply weaker consumer outlook.
“It’s really all about the labor market,†Tom Porcelli, a senior economist at RBS Capital Markets Corp. in New York, said before the report. “We are now more than a year into recovery, yet we have not seen any meaningful job growth and the unemployment rate is likely to remain elevated for an extended period. There is an enormous amount of uncertainty.â€
Source: Bloomberg
