Fla. Consumer Confidence Drops In August
MIAMI (CBSMiami.com) – The Great Recession is showing no signs of easing up on the state of Florida. The latest consumer confidence numbers for the state showed that there is little hope for this changing as well.
According to the University of Florida, Florida's consumer confidence in August was rated at 62. That's down six points from July and only three points higher than the all-time low of 59 set in June 2008.
UF's economic and business research director, Chris McCarty, said the drop in confidence could be a result of the contentious debt ceiling debate. The debt ceiling fight may have impacted the rate because other economic indicators were unchanged from July.
Still, Florida's confidence is higher than that of the rest of the nation. The Conference Board reported the national consumer confidence index dropped 15 points to 44.5, much lower than economists expected.
The decline in confidence can also be blamed on the roller coaster ride Wall Street has been on the past month. Massive drops have been followed by record gains as Wall Street tried to deal with the stagnating economy.
All of it is a bad sign for retailers as the back-to-school shopping could be impacted and as stores turn towards holiday sales, which account for huge chunks of their annual sales.
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