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 decreased slightly over the past two weeks, according to the HPS-CivicScience Economic Sentiment Index (ESI). Though the ESI dropped 0.5 points down to 52.5 points during the beginning of April, consumer confidence remains just under its 2019 high of 53.0 back in mid-March.
Three out of the ESI’s five indicators dropped during the reading. Consumer confidence in personal finances experienced the largest drop, falling by 2.2 points to a level of 62.9. Economic sentiment toward making a major purchase and the labor market fell as well, with both moving down by 0.3 points to hit 55.0 and 45.1 points, respectively. Meanwhile, consumer confidence in the housing market increased from 51.0 to 51.4 points, while confidence in the broader U.S. economy rose by a mere 0.1 points.
