Job slowdown in April halts growth in overall confidence

ANN ARBOR, Mich.-Consumer confidence remained largely unchanged at improved levels in April as consumers were still hopeful about future job gains despite disappointing recent developments, according to economist Richard Curtin, director of the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers. The Surveys, conducted by the U-M Institute for Social Research, have been monitoring consumer attitudes and expectations for over 60 years. "The revival of confidence critically depends on the two economic events that consumers still expect to happen-that jobs will become more plentiful and that gasoline prices will continue to edge downward," said Curtin. "Both are widely expected by consumers, and these expectations are anchored well enough to withstand temporary disappointments. But without renewed gains in jobs and incomes, economic optimism will remain at lackluster levels." - "The main challenges to building a lasting economic recovery are renewing job and income growth as well as reducing uncertainty about future federal tax and spending policies. To avoid the mid-year relapses of the prior two years, it would be best to quickly reduce uncertainty about future tax rates which are now scheduled to increase at the start of 2013. If no decision about bridging the fiscal cliff is made until after the November election, consumers are likely to become more cautious spenders, especially higher income households toward year end, and those delayed spending decisions will become more widespread the closer the election." - Personal Finances Weaken The current financial situation among all income groups weakened in April.