Unemployement Leading to Economic downturn

Americans are losing hope and it is showing up in a widely observed barometer of public sentiment. 49.3 is where the consumer Confidence index stands as opposed to the revised level of 54.8 in May according to the New York based Conference Board. The findings of this Index are carefully monitored across industries, by economists and investors as it accounts for more than half of the US economy.The gains shown earlier by the Board were reversed after the Dow Jones industrials fell 71.04 points, though a housing index shows that home price declines were moderated in April. The present situation index showed a decline of almost five points- this is indicative of consumers expecting a bleaker future. The shoppers were also asked about their outlook for the next six months and there was a drop to 65.5 from 71.5 in the Expectations Index.Economic conditions may take some more time to stabilize as indicated by this study. The economists, though are confident that this will hold at 55 only because of the surges in April and May and the stock market rally. After the Historic low of 25.3 in February, the consumer sentiment has risen, though it is far from what it used to be. If the reading of consumer sentiment is above 90 then the economy is said to be in a better state. Economists were expecting a rise to 42.3 and the figures came out 14 points higher at 61.4.Merchants continue to struggle with almost no recovery in sales figures, so the rise in sentiment has translated into Nil for them. Retail sellers may continue to be affected in the critical fall season as shoppers are inundated with worries.

The index in 20 major cities fell by 18.1 % , making the housing rebound a far reality, the decline for the third consecutive month was not a record. The 10 city index too fell 18% from the year before and house prices are at 2003 year levels.Job security is the most important worry for people that is preventing them from shopping. That jobs were hard to get was a sentiment shared by 44.8% of the consumers contacted by the conference boardThe sentiment that jobs were plentiful declined by more than 1 %. Anticipation of more jobs declined by almost 2%, while those shoppers anticipating fewer jobs increased by 2 %. The pproportion of individuals who believed that their income would increase has fallen from 10.8% to 9.8%.Unemplyment rates have risen to 9.6% from 9.4% according to a report expected from the Labour Department. Employers are also expected to shed almost 17,000 jobs more than what were the projected figures in MayMalls wear a deserted look as consumers up their savings and deny splurging, leading to the highest savings investments in 15 years. Powered by Freedom debt Relief