A Nielsen survey showed an increase of almost ten points over the past month in consumer confidence. This finding is in line with data that suggests Americans are viewing the economy as improving.
The level of consumer confidence for May, 82.4 out of 100, marks a high for the past five years. Lynn Franco, Director of Economic Indicators, said “consumer confidence is on the mend and may be regaining the traction it lost due to the fiscal cliff, payroll-tax hike, and sequester.”
This data comes a week after Chairman of the Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke, appealed to Congress to increase government stimulus projects (RELATED: Fed chairman lectures Congress) Unemployment is projected to stay steady, at more than seven percent. Consumers polled, however, expect the labor market to get better.
The study was conducted by The Conference Board, a non-profit that is operated by Nielson, and used a random sampling of American consumers. The standard of happiness is based on the level of economic satisfaction in 1985.