In the USA, Floridians’ consumer confidence jumps up…
Consumer confidence among Floridians rose three points to 69 in December, the highest rank in the past nine months, according to a University of Florida .. survey.
UF researchers said this reflects a cautious optimism about the economy even though the latest figure is only one point below the level set in December 2010.
Consumer confidence rose in four of the five indexes used in the overall rating and fell in only one – expectations of a drop in personal finances a year from now, declined two points to 78.
The index that measures whether Floridians think their personal finances have improved from a year ago rose one point to 53. Another showed their overall expectations in the soundness of the U.S. economy jumped six points to 59. Confidence in the economy’s performance over the next five years also rose – three points to 71.
The overall perception of survey takers that the present is a good time to buy “big ticket” items, such as washing machines and laptops — went up sharply by seven points to 85.
USA Today reported Tuesday that holiday retail sales nationally appeared to be somewhere between ho-ho-ho and ho-hum.Sear’s Holdings (NASDAQ: SHLD) on Tuesday said it would close 100 to 120 Sears and Kmart .. stores after a drop in sales.
The UF survey reflects a changing mood that matches growing confidence across the nation, said Chris McCarty, director of UF’s Survey Research Center in the Bureau of Economic and Business Research. In addition, he added, there are factors in the Florida economy that were interpreted as positive by both younger and older respondents. Men were more positive than women by a margin of 71 points to 67.
“Floridians are most likely optimistic about continued improvement in the employment situation,” McCarty said. The decline in unemployment in November was 0.4 percent to 10 percent.
The drop marked the first time in many months that economic sectors other than tourism led the way in employment increases. McCarty noted that employers in trade, transportation and utilities employed 34,800 more workers from October to November.
However, he cautioned that many of these new jobs were in retail trade and may only reflect holiday seasonal hiring, which could disappear in early 2012.
