Loudonville, NY -- New York consumers' confidence in the economy remained gloomy in September, researchers said this morning. But while their confidence lagged, the 676 New Yorkers questioned by the Siena Research Institute said they were slightly more likely to make big purchases in the coming months. "Essentially, consumer confidence is unchanged this month among New Yorkers," said Dr. Doug...
Loudonville, NY -- New York consumers' confidence in the economy remained gloomy in September, researchers said this morning.
But while their confidence lagged, the 676 New Yorkers questioned by the Siena Research Institute said they were slightly more likely to make big purchases in the coming months.
"Essentially, consumer confidence is unchanged this month among New Yorkers," said Dr. Doug Lonnstrom, founding director of the research institute at Siena College. "Call it bad, call it weak, consumers remain more negative than positive about both the economy in general and their family's foothold in it."
The state Consumer Confidence Index for September was 62.8, up 0.3 points from August, Siena officials said. Confidence in current economic conditions remained the same at 63.7, while confidence in future conditions rose half a point to 62.3.
Slightly more than one-quarter of those surveyed said they expected their fortunes to improve over the next 12 months while nearly 20 percent expected more financial trouble, Lonnstrom said.
Researchers found more consumers saying they planned to buy vehicles, homes, computers and furniture in the coming months. A declining number said they planned to make major home improvements.
The outlook among men and women was about the same in September, but confidence among male consumers fell 2.6 points from August while it rose 2.7 points among women.
Democrats, with an overall index of 71.1, tended to be far more optimistic than Republicans, at 50.6, SRI said.
Metropolitan New York City residents were more confident than upstaters, especially over future conditions.
New Yorkers overall tended to be less optimistic about the current economy but more optimistic about the future than respondents to a national survey.
That poll, conducted by the University of Michigan, put the September national Consumer Confidence Index at 68.2, down 0.7 from August. Current confidence reached 79.6, up 1.3 points, but future confidence fell 2 points to 60.9.