Bags are displayed in the window of a Kate Spade store in Pittsburgh on Monday, Jan. 30, 2023. On Tuesday, the Conference Board reports on U.S. consumer confidence for February. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Higher-income consumers are feeling better about the economy, and their optimism is helping lift the Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index.
The index, which tracks consumers' expectations of business and labor market conditions, increased slightly to 104.2 in March, up from 103.4 the month before.
"Driven by an uptick in expectations, consumer confidence improved somewhat in March, but remains below the average level seen in 2022 (104.5)," said Ataman Ozyildirim, senior director of economics at The Conference Board, in a press release. "The gain reflects an improved outlook for consumers under 55 years of age and for households earning $50,000 and over."
He added that while consumers are more optimistic about the near future, they are less sure about the current economy.
"The share of consumers saying jobs are 'plentiful' fell, while the share of those saying jobs are 'not so plentiful' rose," Ozyildirim said.
The index showed that consumers expect to spend less on discretionary purchases, such as entertainment and dining out, and more on less discretionary purchases, such as health care and home repairs.
Sola Mahfouz and Malaina Kapoor, authors of 'Defiant Dreams: The Journey of an Afghan Girl Who Risked Everything for Education' discuss how Sola overcame the Taliban to get an education.
Pittsburgh International Airport CEO, Christina Cassotis talks the airport’s upcoming upgrades and why you can’t count out business travel, even in a post-pandemic world.
Fresh off of speaking at the UN, Amalya Yeghoyan, Executive Director of FAR’s Gyumri Information Technology Center, discusses her work to empower women through tech.
Veetahl Eilat-Raichel, Founder and CEO of Sorbet, shares how employees can harness the value of their time off – and how companies can use PTO to employees’ benefit.
