The HPS-CivicScience Economic Sentiment Index (“ESI”) is a “living” index that measures U.S. adults’ expectations for the economy going forward, as well as their feelings about current conditions for major purchases. The primary goal of the Index is to accurately measure movements in overall national economic sentiment and to provide a more sophisticated alternative to existing economic sentiment indices. Unlike other prominent indices that release consumer sentiment estimates infrequently, the HPS-CivicScience Index is updated in real time as responses are collected continuously every hour, every day. Large-scale cross-tabulation of survey responses and consumer attributes enable more granular analyses than are currently possible through prevailing measures.
Excerpt From the Latest Reading:
Consumer confidence increased slightly over the past two weeks, rising 0.5 points to 53.2 according to the HPS-CivicScience Economic Sentiment Index (ESI). Confidence in the U.S. labor market, however, continued its steady decline from a peak of 51.1 on October 30.
Four out of the ESI’s five indicators increased over the past two weeks. Confidence in personal finances increased the most, rising 1.7 points to 67.6, its highest level since February. Consumer confidence in making a major purchase moved up by 1.3 points to reach 53.8 points, and confidence in the housing market rose by 1.2 points to hit 48.2.
Confidence in finding a new job was the sole indicator to drop, declining by 2.1 points to hit a level of 47.1 points. While the other four indicators increased as Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales hit record highs, the decline in confidence in the U.S. labor market came as U.S. weekly jobless claims hit a 4-month high last week.
