Consumer Confidence Falls in January

New York, NY, Jan. 31, 2012 -- The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index declined in January.

The Index now stands at 61.1, down from 64.8 in December.

The Present Situation Index declined to 38.4 from 46.5. The Expectations Index edged down to 76.2 from 77.0 in December.

"Consumer Confidence retreated in January, after large back-to-back gains in the final two months of 2011," said Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center.

"Consumers' assessment of current business and labor market conditions turned more downbeat and is back to November 2011 levels. Regarding the short-term outlook, consumers are more upbeat about employment, but less optimistic about business conditions and their income prospects. Recent increases in gasoline prices may have consumers feeling a little less confident this month."

Consumers' appraisal of current conditions was less favorable in January. Those claiming business conditions are "good" decreased to 13.3% from 16.3%, while those stating business conditions are "bad" increased to 38.7% from 33.5%.

Consumers' assessment of the labor market was also less positive. Those saying jobs are "plentiful" decreased to 6.1% from 6.6%, while those claiming jobs are "hard to get" increased to 43.5% from 41.6%.