And we’re planning to spend even less in February. The Next 30-Day Retail Index, which represents the number of electronics, appliances, and yard and garden equipment consumers said they’re planning to buy this month, plummeted to 6.9 from 8.9 the prior month. That’s the lowest level it has been since August of last year.
Our hesitation to spend money is not the result of the personal financial hardships we’re experiencing, however. In fact, the Trouble Tracker showed real improvement. It declined to 53.4 in February from 58.2 in January. The top difficulty reported in February: the inability to afford medical bills or medications (14.7 percent, up from 12.7 percent in January). A change in credit card terms (such as an increased interest rate or penalty fees) was the second most common complaint.
The Employment Index remains unchanged, but there is a significant trend emerging. Over the past several months the proportion of Americans reporting a job loss in the past 30 days steadily declined to 5.7 percent in February, versus 7.8 percent in October. However, fewer Americans started a new job in the past 30 days (3.8 percent in February, from a recent high of 6.2 percent in September).Slow job creation remains a significant drag on the economy. “Though the tide of job losses has been stemmed and the economy is improving gradually for consumers, the level of job creation needed to fuel a consumer recovery has not developed,” said Ed Farrell, a director at the Consumer Reports National Research Center.
As a result of the overall mixed picture, the Consumer Reports Sentiment Index has remained virtually unchanged in February (43.9) from January (44.1). The Consumer Reports Stress Index is now at 59.9, on par with January (59.0), but down from December (63.0).
The Consumer Reports Index, conducted by the Consumer Reports National Research Center, is a monthly telephone and cell phone poll of a nationally representative probability sample of American adults. A total of 1,263 interviews were completed (1,013 households, 250 cell phones) among adults aged 18+. Interviewing took place between January 28 and January 31, 2010. The margin of error is +/- 2.8 points at a 95% confidence level.—Mandy Walker
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