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 improved slightly over the past two weeks, according to the HPS-CivicScience Economic Sentiment Index (ESI). The index moved up 0.3 points, rising from a reading of 52.6 on July 10 to 52.9 on July 24. This marks the fourth reading period in a row that the ESI has reversed course.
The recovery in economic sentiment was driven by a 1.1 point increase in consumer confidence in making a major purchase, the largest change by any subcategory during the reading period.
Four of the ESI’s five indicators increased during the reading period. As previously stated, confidence in making a major purchase experienced the largest change of any indicator during the reading period, up from 53.0 to 54.1. Consumer sentiment towards the U.S. labor market also jumped by 0.9 points to 49.2, while confidence in both personal finances and the housing market rose by 0.4 and 0.2 points, respectively.
Consumer confidence in the broader U.S. economy was the only indicator to fall, dropping 1.1 points to 47.9.
