The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index increased to 43.6 in the week ended Jan. 4, the highest level since October 2007, from 42.7 the period before, according to data issued today. Another report showed fewer workers filed for unemployment benefits last week, indicating employers are holding on to seasonal hires.
Fewer dismissals are making employed workers more secure ahead of a report tomorrow that is projected to show more Americans found jobs last month. Confidence is even firming among lower-income groups, indicating the benefits of the cheapest gasoline prices in more than five years and the lowest mortgage rates since mid-2013 are rippling through the economy.
Employment has “been the overriding factor boosting consumer confidence,” said Jennifer Lee, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets in Toronto. “You can point to gasoline prices, you can point to low rates in general, but at the end of the day, the job market is the most important.”
Continue Reading for Free
Register and gain access to:
- Breaking insurance news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Weekly Insurance Speak podcast featuring exclusive interviews with industry leaders
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical converage of the employee benefits and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, BenefitsPRO and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
