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:
Economic sentiment climbed 1.8 points to 51.4, its highest reading in a year, according to the HPS-CivicScience Economic Sentiment Index (ESI). Over the two week period that marked the passage of the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan (ARPA), consumer confidence rose to its highest level since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic on March 11, 2020.
Economic sentiment climbed 1.8 points to 51.4, its highest reading in a year, according to the HPS-CivicScience Economic Sentiment Index (ESI). With the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan (ARPA) signed into law, consumers have regained the most confidence they’ve had in the U.S. economy since before the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic on March 11, 2020.
– Confidence in the overall U.S. economy rose 1.2 points to a year-long high of 56.6.
– Housing market confidence went up 0.7 points to 50.1.
– Consumer confidence in making a major purchase increased 0.6 points to 44.6, a high for 2021.
