Conf Board Confidence Beats, With Jobs Increasingly "Plentiful"

Conference Board Consumer Confidence came in at 121.7 in April, beating expectations of 113.0 and a significant rise from an revised 109.0 reading in March. It was the highest reading since Feb 2020.

• The "Present Situation" reading soared from 110.1 to 139.6, while expectations edged higher from 108.3 to 109.8.
• In a positive sign for employment, the % of consumers saying jobs are "plentiful" rose from 26.5% to 37.9%; jobs "hard to get" fell from 18.5% to 13.2%. The spread in favor of jobs plentiful" thus jumped from 8.0 points in March to 24.7 in April - the latter marking by far the widest spread since the start of the pandemic (see chart below).
• Per the Conference Board: "Consumers were more upbeat about their income prospects, perhaps due to the improving job market and the recent round of stimulus checks. Short-term inflation expectations held steady in April, but remain elevated. Vacation intentions posted a healthy increase, likely boosted by the accelerating vaccine rollout and further loosening of pandemic restrictions."

Source: Conference Board, BBG, MNI