Consumer confidence climbed last week to the second-highest level in a year as an improving job market bolstered Americans' views of their financial well-being, according to an article in Bloomberg.
The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index rose to 37.7 in the period ended Aug. 31 from 37.3 the prior week. A measure of personal finances increased to 54.2, matching the strongest reading since April 2008.
Gary Langer, president of Langer Research Associates LLC in New York, said, “The fact that people feel they’re doing better financially is an important element. The improvement in confidence in the lower-income tier is encouraging, and makes it a more broad-based recovery.”
Meanwhile, the U.S. Department of Labor reported that unemployment benefits barely changed from a week prior, rising by 4,000 to 302,000 for the week ended Aug. 30.
