Consumer confidence unshaken

Consumer confidence nationally reached another high, despite the ongoing uncertainty in the financial markets and major recent layoffs.

An index published by Thomson Reuters and the University of Michigan is at its highest level since October 2007. The index measures both current conditions and future expectations. Only last month, the survey suggested confidence was flattening amid weaker job growth.

“The upbeat consumer reports on jobs could mean that more positive numbers will soon be reported by the government, or that consumers have yet again pushed their expectations beyond the likely performance of the economy,” said Richard Curtin, an economist who maintains the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan index, in a written statement. “The most likely prospect is that job growth resumes at a modest pace and that confidence remains largely unchanged until after the November election and decisions about tax policy are made.”