Californians See a Brighter Future Next Year
California consumers are feeling pretty good these days.
In the latest survey by Chapman University economists, consumers are at their most optimistic since the pre-recession days of August 2007.
The California Composite Index of Consumer Confidence increased more than six points during the last three months, registering 90.5 in November compared with 84.2 in August. However, that is still down from the 98.4 reading before the recession started in August 2007.
Nevertheless, an index level below 100 shows there is a higher percentage of pessimistic consumers than optimistic consumers.
“I didn’t expect it to jump as high as six points. That was a bit of a surprise,” said Esmael Adibi, director of the Anderson Center for Economic Research at Chapman University in Orange, Calif., which conducted the quarterly survey.
The consumer-confidence index is determined by three factors. It looks at current economic conditions, future expectations and consumers’ spending plans. All three indices improved over the last three months, with the index for future economic conditions showing the highest gain.
“If you look at people’s spending plans and compare it to last November, you see an improvement, which should mean that retail sales are going to be better for this holiday season,” Adibi said.—Deborah Belgum
