WASHINGTON - US consumer confidence fell for the second straight month in September as the outlook for jobs deteriorated, the Conference Board revealed.
The board's consumer confidence index fell nearly two points to 96.8, from a revised 98.7 in August, the economic research group said Tuesday.
The index, based on a survey of 5,000 US households, was below the avergae forecast on Wall Street of 99.5 points.
"The recent declines in the index were caused primarily by a deterioration in consumers' assessment of employment conditions," said Conference Board research director Lynn Franco.
"Soft labor market conditions have clearly taken a toll on consumer confidence."
Economists see consumer confidence as a crucial indicator because it often impacts consumer spending, which accounts for two-thirds of US economic activity.
"These figures are consistent with our scenario of a persistent weakness in the labor market," said Marie-Pierre Ripert at CDC IXIS. "As a result, private consumption is likely to remain weak over the coming months."
Among the various components in the survey, the present situation index fell to 95.5 from 100.7 in August. But the expectations Index was virtually unchanged at 97.6, compared with 97.3 last month.
Those saying business conditions are "good" edged up to 23.6 percent from 23.0 percent. Those claiming conditions are "bad" remained flat at 20.3 percent, compared to 20.2 percent last month.
The job situation was less favorable than in August. Consumers saying jobs are "plentiful" declined to 16.8 percent from 18.4 percent. Those claiming jobs are "hard to get" rose to 28.3 percent from 26.0 percent in August.
Consumers' outlook for the next six months is relatively unchanged. Those anticipating conditions to worsen in the next six months increased to 9.4 percent from 8.8 percent. But those expecting business conditions to improve increased to 21.4 percent from 20.2 percent last month.
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