American's Views on the Economy by Sophie Kuipers
In recent years, the majority of Americans have had negative, gloomy thoughts about the current economy, displaying a lack of confidence in our current situation. However, in December of 2023, there was an uptick in positive sentiments in regard to the economy, for things from consumer’s personal situations to aspects such as inflation.
NBC News wrote in an article about consumers’ thoughts on the economy that, “The University of Michigan said Friday that its consumer sentiment index jumped 13% to 69.4, as people became less worried about inflation and more optimistic about a number of issues. That not only ended the downturn but reversed the decline, returning the sentiment index to where it was in August.” Basically, people have become more optimistic about the economy than they have in a while, and this recent uptick helped decline the increasing percentage of people who don’t feel as good about where the economy is at.
Why is the consumer sentiment index important? According to NBC News, consumer spending covers about 70% of the United States economy. So, this index is seen as a way of indicating what direction the economy may be going in, and how much people are willing to spend.
Overall, this uptick in consumer confidence points towards growth and continued optimism in the future, which is good for everyone! Although this was a bit of a surprise to experts and economists, due to consumers generally not feeling the best about the economy and fearing the possibility of a recession, it is a welcome one.
NBC News wrote in an article about consumers’ thoughts on the economy that, “The University of Michigan said Friday that its consumer sentiment index jumped 13% to 69.4, as people became less worried about inflation and more optimistic about a number of issues. That not only ended the downturn but reversed the decline, returning the sentiment index to where it was in August.” Basically, people have become more optimistic about the economy than they have in a while, and this recent uptick helped decline the increasing percentage of people who don’t feel as good about where the economy is at.
Why is the consumer sentiment index important? According to NBC News, consumer spending covers about 70% of the United States economy. So, this index is seen as a way of indicating what direction the economy may be going in, and how much people are willing to spend.
Overall, this uptick in consumer confidence points towards growth and continued optimism in the future, which is good for everyone! Although this was a bit of a surprise to experts and economists, due to consumers generally not feeling the best about the economy and fearing the possibility of a recession, it is a welcome one.