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THE CONFERENCE BOARD'S CONSUMER CONFIDENCE INDEX
REACHES SECOND-HIGHEST LEVEL EVER

The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index rose again in December, reaching the second-highest reading ever posted in the 32-year history of The Conference Board's monthly index.

The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index closed at 141.4 (1985=100), up from 137 in November. The index's all-time high of 142.3 was registered in October 1968. The Present Situations Index climbed to 181.5, up from 176.8 in November. The Expectations Index, which has been an accurate barometer of future business trends, rose to 114.7, up from 110.4 in November.

The Consumer Confidence survey is based on a representative sample of 5,000 U.S. households. The monthly poll is conducted for The Conference Board by NFO Research, Inc., of Greenwich, Connecticut.

Internet-Age Consumers See Good Times Ahead

"Consumers are in very good spirits as the 20th Century comes to a close," says Lynn Franco, Director of The Conference Board's Consumer Research Center. "Healthy paychecks, continued low inflation, and continued job opportunities will keep the economic expansion on its record-breaking course."

Consumers have become more optimistic about business prospects. Some 17.6% look for conditions to improve over the next six months, up from 17% in November. Only 4.9% expect business conditions to deteriorate, down from 5.7% in November. Only 10.4% expect fewer job opportunities over the next six months, down from 12.4% in November.

Consumers also have positive views about current business conditions. Some 46.8% of all consumers say current conditions are "good," rising from 41.3% in November. Consumers believing that current jobs are "plentiful" rose 51.5%, up from 48.1% in November. Those claiming jobs are "hard to get" was unchanged at 11.8% in December.
 

Conference Board U.S. Consumer Confidence
	Dec 98	Jan 99	Feb 99	Mar 99	Apr 99	May 99	Jun 99
Consumer Confidence	126.7	128.9	133.1	134.0	135.5	137.7	139.0
Present Situation	168.6	172.9	177.7	176.6	175.5	177.2	175.0
Expectations	98.7	99.6	103.4	105.5	108.8	111.3	114.9
	Jul 99	Aug 99	Sep 99	Oct 99	Nov 99 (r)	Dec 99 (p)
Consumer Confidence	136.2	136.0	134.2	130.5	135.8	141.4
Present Situation	179.2	176.3	176.3	173.9	175.3	181.5
Expectations	107.6	109.2	106.2	101.5	109.3	114.7
(p)--Preliminary (r)--Revised

December 28, 1999

The Conference Board

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