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 remained unchanged at 53.3 points over the past two weeks, according to the HPS-CivicScience Economic Sentiment Index (ESI).
High levels of confidence in the U.S. labor market, as well as the broader economy, were offset by a 2.7 point decrease in consumer sentiment towards personal finances, resulting in no change in the index’s overall movement.
Three of the ESI’s five indicators increased during the reading period. Consumer confidence in the U.S. labor market experienced the largest increase, rising 1.7 points to reach 49.0 points. In addition to the increase in consumer confidence in the labor market, consumer confidence in both the broader economy and the housing market rose by 1.2 points to 51.3 points and 48.9 points, respectively. Meanwhile, consumer sentiment towards making a major purchase dropped 1.2 points, from 54.1 points to 52.9 points. Additionally, the aforementioned 2.7 point decrease in consumer sentiment towards personal finances constitutes the largest change for the indicator since September 19, 2017.
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