|
Optimism about the future fuels consumder confidence, despite continuing woes
Though the current economic climate is still not good, Massachusetts residents are more optimistic about the future. Projections for the job market and economic climate are much more positive than last quarter, and the percentage of residents who believe the worst is over for the state's economy has more than doubled. Half the state residents belive the state is headed on the right track.
The Massachusetts Consumer Confidence Index rose 27 points to 65, a full 26 points higher than the national score (39) and more than double the number for New England (32). The upturn in confidence is mostly due to future expectations, rather than positive observations about the current climate. When asked to assess the future of the state economy, 43% say the worst is over, while 51% say the worst is yet to come. It's a major improvement on the January rating of 17% and 80%, respectively.
Fourteen percent say current business conditions are good, up ten points from January. About half (51%) say current business conditions are bad (down from 71% in January). More than one-third (35%) say conditions will get better in the near future, the highest this rating has been since January 2004. Only 18% expect business conditions to get worse, the lowest since July 2007.
Still, the sharp increases come off all-time lows, and though there is optimism about the future, there are still concerns about jobs. Just four percent say there are plenty of jobs in their area, and 58% describe jobs as hard to get, similar to the 61% who said so in January. Over one-quarter (27%) expect more jobs in the near future, the highest this percentage has been since January 2004. The percentage that expects fewer jobs in the near future fell 19 points from 49% in January to 30% now.
The optimism doesn't carry over to salary expectations. Only 15% believe their income will rise in the next six months, but two-thirds expect their salary will remain stable. Almost one-quarter (23%) are very confident about their personal financial future, up from 17% in January.
The Massachusetts Consumer Confidence Index is published quarterly by Mass Insight, a Boston-based firm that organizes public-private initiatives on competitive issues affecting Massachusetts.
The Massachusetts Index is modeled on the national Conference Board Index. The Conference Board index is scaled to a 1985 base of 100 and varies above and below 100; the Mass Insight Index is adjusted to the Conference Board scale using a constant factor. The survey on which the Massachusetts Index is based is conducted for Mass Insight by Opinion Dynamics Corporation of Cambridge. This survey consists of telephone interviews with 500 adult residents of Massachusetts.
Sales & Use Tax Figures
2009 National Retail Federation's Retail Breakdown for Massachusetts
http://www.nrf.com/modules.php?name=Pages&sp_id=902&state_id=MA
|