Consumers expect the economy to improve but remain distressed.
Following April’s record one-month decline, consumer confidence inched upward in May by an insignificant amount, according to the University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers.
The Sentiment Index fell 27.7% below last May’s level, with the falloff in evaluations of current conditions and future prospects posting declines of 25%-30%. The CARES relief checks and higher unemployment payments have helped to stem economic hardship, but those programs have not acted to stimulate discretionary spending due to uncertainty about the future course of the pandemic, said U-M economist Richard Curtin, director of the surveys.
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