Consumer Comfort in U.S. Declines for a Second Straight Week
By Jeanna Smialek - Mar 28, 2013
Confidence among U.S. consumers fell for a second straight week as Americans views of the economy dimmed.
The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index dropped to minus 34.4 in the week ended March 24, a six-week low, from minus 33.9 in the prior period. The decrease was within the margin of error of 3 percentage points. A measure of the state of the economy declined to the lowest level since early February.
Concern may be growing that automatic cuts in government spending will slow the economy and prompt some companies to curb hiring. A 2 percentage-point increase in the tax used to fund Social Security thats cut into take-home pay may also be weighing on sentiment.
Were getting a lagged effect of the tax increases beginning to set in on the public, in particular the lower income cohorts and the middle class, said Joseph Brusuelas, a senior economist at Bloomberg LP in New York. Spending will likely slow.
Another report today showed more Americans than forecast filed for unemployment benefits last week. First-time jobless claims rose by 16,000 to 357,000 in the week ended March 23, the highest level in more than a month, according to data today from the Labor Department in Washington.
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