WASHINGTON — American consumers are giving today’s economy the highest grade in more than 16 years.
The Conference Board says consumers’ assessment of current economic conditions hit the highest level this month since July 2001.
The business research group’s overall consumer confidence index, which takes into account Americans’ views of current conditions and their expectations for the next six months, rose to 122.9 in August from 120 in July.
Americans’ spirits have been lifted by a healthy job market.
Employers added a robust 209,000 jobs in July, and the unemployment rate has dropped to a 16-year low of 4.3 percent.
Economists pay close attention to the numbers because consumer spending accounts for about 70 percent of U.S. economic activity.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.