Consumer Confidence Plummets in June

Washington, DC, June 24, 2008--Consumer confidence fell much further than expected this month.

The Conference Board says its June consumer confidence index came in at 50.4, far below economists' expectation of 56.5.

The May reading was revised to 58.1 from a prior estimate of 57.2. The percentage of consumers saying jobs are "hard to get" rose to 30.5 percent in June from 28.3 percent in May.

"This month's Consumer Confidence Index is the fifth lowest reading ever," said Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center:

"Consumers' assessment of present-day conditions continues to grow more negative and suggests the economy remains stuck in low gear. Looking ahead, consumers' economic outlook is so bleak that the Expectations Index has reached a new all-time low. Perhaps the silver lining to this otherwise dismal report is that Consumer Confidence may be nearing a bottom."

Consumers' assessment of present conditions grew dimmer in June. Those claiming business conditions are "bad" increased to 32.5 percent from 29.7 percent, while those claiming business conditions are "good" declined to 11.5 percent from 13.0 percent last month.