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New York, NY—The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index decreased in July, after increasing in June. The Index now stands at 92.6 (1985=100), down from 98.3 in June.

Consumers actually feel a bit better about the present, but have grown more worried about the future. The Present Situation Index, based on consumers’ assessment of current business and labor market conditions, improved from 86.7 to 94.2. However, the Expectations Index, based on consumers’ short-term outlook for income, business, and labor market conditions, decreased from 106.1 in June to 91.5 this month. Fewer than one third (31.6%) of consumers expect business conditions to improve over the next six months and even fewer (30.6%) think the job market will improve. 

“Consumer Confidence declined in July following a large gain in June,” said Lynn Franco, senior director of economic indicators at The Conference Board. “The Present Situation Index improved, but the Expectations Index retreated. Large declines were experienced in Michigan, Florida, Texas and California, no doubt a result of the resurgence of COVID-19. Looking ahead, consumers have grown less optimistic about the short-term outlook for the economy and labor market and remain subdued about their financial prospects. Such uncertainty about the short-term future does not bode well for the recovery, nor for consumer spending.”

The monthly Consumer Confidence Survey, based on a probability-design random sample, is conducted for The Conference Board by Nielsen, a global provider of information and analytics of what consumers buy and watch. The cutoff date for the preliminary results was July 17.