The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index® increased in October, following declines in the previous three months. The Index now stands at 113.8 (1985=100), up from 109.8 in September. The Present Situation Index—based on consumers' assessment of current business and labor market conditions—rose to 147.4 from 144.3 last month. The Expectations Index—based on consumers' short-term outlook for income, business, and labor market conditions—improved to 91.3 from 86.7. 

"Consumer confidence improved in October, reversing a three-month downward trend as concerns about the spread of the Delta variant eased," said Lynn Franco, Senior Director of Economic Indicators at The Conference Board. "While short-term inflation concerns rose to a 13-year high, the impact on confidence was muted. The proportion of consumers planning to purchase homes, automobiles, and major appliances all increased in October—a sign that consumer spending will continue to support economic growth through the final months of 2021. Likewise, nearly half of respondents (47.6%) said they intend to take a vacation within the next six months—the highest level since February 2020, a reflection of the ongoing resurgence in consumers' willingness to travel and spend on in-person services." 

Present Situation
Consumers' appraisal of current business conditions was mixed in October.

• 18.6% of consumers said business conditions are "good," down from 19.1%.

• On the other hand, 24.9% of consumers said business conditions are "bad," down from 25.3%.

Consumers' assessment of the labor market was moderately more favorable.

• 55.6% of consumers said jobs are "plentiful," down from 56.5%.

• Conversely, 10.6% of consumers said jobs are "hard to get," down from 13.0%.

Expectations Six Month Hence
Consumers' optimism about the short-term business conditions outlookwas mixed in October.

• 24.3% of consumers expect business conditions will improve, up from 21.7%.

• On the other hand, 21.1% expect business conditions to worsen, up from 17.6%.

Consumers were more optimistic about the short-term labor market outlook.

• 25.4% of consumers expect more jobs to be available in the months ahead, up from 21.3%.

• 18.3% anticipate fewer jobs, down from 19.9%.

Consumers were more positive about their short-term financial prospects.

• 18.7% of consumers expect their incomes to increase, up from 16.9%.

• 11.3% expect their incomes will decrease, virtually unchanged from 11.4%.

The monthly Consumer Confidence Survey®, based on an online sample, is conducted for The Conference Board by Toluna, a technology company that delivers real-time consumer insights and market research through its innovative technology, expertise, and panel of over 36 million consumers. The cutoff date for the preliminary results was October 20.

Please note: The Consumer Confidence Index® release date for December 2021 data has changed. We will now be releasing the Index on December 22 at 10 AM ET, not December 28 at 10 AM ET as previously indicated.

Source: October 2021 Consumer Confidence Survey^®
The Conference Board / Release #9044

The Conference Board publishes the Consumer Confidence Index^® at 10 a.m. ET on the last Tuesday of every month. Subscription information and the technical notes to this series are available on The Conference Board website: https://www.conference-board.org/data/consumerdata.cfm.