Consumer confidence back up in March

Consumer confidence regained much of its lost momentum in March, rising back over the 100 mark after backtracking in February.

The Index is now standing at 101.3 versus last month's 98.8, though consumers felt less optimistic about current conditions than they did about the near future.

“Consumer confidence improved in March after retreating in February," said Lynn Franco, director of economic indicators for The Conference Board. "This month’s increase was driven by an improved short-term outlook for both employment and income prospects; consumers were less upbeat about business conditions. Consumers’ assessment of current conditions declined for the second consecutive month, suggesting that growth may have softened in Q1, and doesn’t appear to be gaining any significant momentum heading into the spring months.”

Together with overall confidence, the Expectations Index also increased in March, rising from 90.0 to 96.0. Though the percentage of consumers expecting business conditions to improve over the next six months was down from 17.6% to 16.7%, there was a 0.9% decrease in those expecting them to worsen as well. There was a more sizable jump in the number of consumers expecting more jobs and income growth ahead, as well as a corresponding decrease in those expecting less.

However, the Present Situation Index was down to 109.1 from 112.1. Those describing business conditions as "good" remained relatively fixed at 26.7%, but there was a 2.7% increase in those describing them as "bad." There were moderate increases both in the number of those saying jobs were "plentiful" as well as those claiming they're "hard to get."