Mass. consumer confidence mixed
While consumer confidence continues to grow, there are indications people are planning to be more selective with their purchases.
Gains in consumer confidence in Massachusetts over the past year have been erased, and while most residents remain overwhelmingly positive there's been a drop recently in the number of people who believe it's a good time to make a major household purchase, according to newly released data.
The Mass Insight Consumer Confidence Index lost 10 points in the third quarter, falling from 125 to 115 - levels above 100 reflect generally positive sentiment and the index was last below that threshold in October 2014. The group's confidence index had risen 8 points in the second quarter of 2016.
"Massachusetts consumer confidence remains almost 20 points higher than national consumer confidence despite the summer drop," Mass Insight Global Partnership CEO William Guenther said in a statement Wednesday.
In the latest survey of consumers, 28 percent disagreed that now is a good time to make a major household purchase, up from 22 percent in the second quarter. Seventy-two percent believed the state is heading in the right direction in the next five years, down from 80 percent in the second quarter.
Fifty-nine percent of respondents rated general business conditions in their area as "normal," with 31 percent saying conditions were "good" and 10 percent saying they were "bad."
Asked about the availability of jobs, 31 percent said there were "plenty of jobs," 53 percent said there were "not so many jobs" and 16 percent said jobs were "hard to get." Seventy percent said there would be the same number of jobs six months from now.
Twenty-two percent said they thought their family income would be higher in six months, with 69 percent saying it would be the same and 9 percent saying it would be lower.
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