NEW YORK–Credit union lending should remain strong if U.S. consumer confidence is any indicator. The latest Consumer Confidence Index released by the Conference Board shows confidence during April hit its second-highest level since 2000.
The survey found more consumers saying they plan to purchase big-ticket items such as cars and major appliances over the next six months, while 7.8% said they plan to buy a home.
The Conference Board further found the “labor differential,” which measures the gap between respondents saying jobs are plentiful and those who say they’re hard to get, narrowed to 22.9 percentage points, a three-month low.
“Confidence levels remain strong and suggest that the economy will continue expanding at a solid pace in the months ahead,” Lynn Franco, director of economic indicators at the Conference Board, said in a statement.
Other Findings:
- 24.5% of consumers said they expect better business conditions in next six months, compared with 23.2% in March
- Share of households who expect incomes to fall in the next six months decreased to 6.8%, matching the lowest since 2000, from 7.2%; those expecting an increase were little changed at 23.1%
- Share of those who said more jobs will be available in coming months was 19.5%, up from the previous survey