Survey: Consumer economic outlook remains lukewarmSurvey: Consumer economic outlook remains lukewarm

Consumers are still not feeling particularly good about the American economy, despite gains in employment growth over the past five years, according to a survey for the National Restaurant Association released Friday.

The U.S. economy added a net of 142,000 jobs in September on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to preliminary figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It was the 60th consecutive month of employment growth, representing a total increase of about 12 million jobs.

Despite those steady improvements, consumers appear to have barely noticed, said Bruce Grindy, the NRA’s chief economist.

In a national survey conducted last week by ORC International for the NRA, eight in 10 adults described the current state of the national economy as either fair (42 percent) or poor (39 percent).

Sixteen percent described the state of the economy as “good,” while 2 percent said it is in “excellent” condition.

That’s an improvement over 2010, when nine in 10 surveyed consumers described the economy as fair (34 percent) or poor (58 percent). That year, 8 percent of those surveyed described the economy as good, and zero respondents used the term excellent.

When asked about their own personal finances, surveyed consumers were similarly lukewarm in their description.

Nearly two-thirds described their personal finances as fair (43 percent) or poor (21 percent). Another 29 percent said good, and only 6 percent said excellent.

“Even more concerning is, if we flash back five years — and 12 million jobs — the responses to the same question were almost identical,” Grindy said.

Nearly six in 10 adults said their personal finances were fair (41 percent) or poor (18 percent) in 2010. Thirty-four percent saw their financial situation as good, while 7 percent said it was excellent.

“With the personal economies of many households trending sideways, it’s not surprising that consumer spending has remained generally lackluster during the economy recovery,” Grindy said. “However, on the aggregate, households are in a much better position than they were in 2010.”

Debt burdens are lower, jobs are more plentiful, home values are rising and low gas prices continue to leave a few extra dollars in their pocketbooks at the end of the month, he said.

“To be sure, as the economic fundamentals continue to improve, an increasing number of consumers will find themselves on a firmer footing, whether they realize it or not,” he said.

Contact Lisa Jennings at [email protected].
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