Consumer confidence in the economy plunged this month, hurt by rising anxiety about the weak recovery from recession and uncertainty about the presidential election, a widely followed survey said Tuesday.
The Conference Board`s consumer confidence index registered 61.0 in July, down 11.6 points for the month. It was the biggest month-to-month decline since the depths of the recession in October 1991, when the index plunged to 60.1 from a 72.9-point reading the month before.
”The decline in consumers` spirits evidently reflects the faltering in the nation`s economic recovery,” said Fabian Linden, executive director of consumer research for the Conference Board, a New York-based business research group.
”Beyond this, the accelerating political debate in this election year, with its emphasis on economic issues, is probably contributing to some public uncertainty and concern,” he said.
The results represented another dose of bad news for President Bush, whose approval ratings and 1992 campaign have been seriously hurt by the nation`s languishing economy.
The latest decline equals almost half the cumulative gain in the index during the spring months. The index went from a 1992 low of 47.3 in February to 56.5 in March, 65.1 in April, 71.9 in May and 72.6 in June.
The index, calculated on a 1985 base of 100, is derived from responses to questions sent to 5,000 households nationwide to assess their level of financial and job security. The questions cover topics ranging from personal buying plans to the outlook for business and employment.
In the latest survey, buying plans for homes and appliances were markedly lower than in June, although intentions to buy a car were up. Most respondents were more negative in their assessment of prevailing economic conditions and their expectations for the months ahead.
Respondents were particularly anxious over their job security. Only 6 percent of the respondents considered jobs plentiful, while 44 percent said they were hard to get.
