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According to The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index, consumer confidence in the United States has increased three points, rising to 129.5 from 126.2 in October. Consumer confidence has been steadily increasing over the past five months, and is now the highest American consumer confidence rate posted in the past 17 years. Americans are becoming increasingly confident in their finances, and spending even more as we come into this year’s holiday season. During the second quarter of 2017, consumer spending in the United States has increased by 3.3% to $11.8 trillion. This rise in consumer spending is noteworthy, considering consumer spending makes up almost 70% of GDP. Two-thirds of this spending is on services, almost one-fourth is on nondurable goods, while the rest is spent on durable goods.
Consumer confidence is also seeing an increase on a global scale. North America continues to have the highest consumer confidence level, but other confidence levels in other regions have also increased considerably, with five out of the six main global regions experiencing confidence gains, according to the Nielsen Consumer Confidence Index. Europe reported increasing confidence levels for nine consecutive quarters, and Africa and the Middle East experienced the greatest increase of five points during the second quarter. Also, their sentiments on the job market have increased by two points globally, since the end of last year. Consumers all over the world are gaining confidence in their personal finances and have high hopes for the future economy and job market.
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