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Just when things started to look better these numbers come out. Doesn't look so good now. Maybe the rebate checks will help a bit in the next couple of months, but I think not enough. There is a tremendous amount of money on the sidelines right now. I will be really interesting to see if it gets used or if it stays on the sidelines.
Consumers: The new skeptics
Another measure of consumer sentiment shows how labor market weakness threatens recovery.
July 29, 2003: 2:11 PM EDT
By Mark Gongloff, CNN/Money Staff Writer
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - For months, U.S. businesses have been skeptical about the economy's prospects, despite the rosy predictions of economists, while consumers have continued to spend money, keeping the economy afloat.
But if recent surveys are any indication, those roles apparently have reversed -- just as businesses feel the first faint stirrings of optimism that the second half of 2003 will get a boost from tax cuts, low interest rates and more, consumers are beginning to voice their disappointment with the longest labor-market slump since World War II.
The latest consumer sentiment survey from the Conference Board, a New York research firm, was surprisingly weak in July, as consumers' comfort with the present and optimism about the future both crumbled under the weight of labor-market weakness.
"Ultimately, for the economic recovery to sustain itself, we have to see the labor market improve," said Ethan Harris, chief economist at Lehman Brothers. "As the tax-cut benefits fade, consumers will look for more fundamental reasons to spend money, and there will have to be some job growth."
More than 2.5 million jobs have been lost since March 2001, when economists believe a recession began. Though the recession apparently ended in November 2001, labor market weakness has continued.
Another measure of consumer sentiment shows how labor market weakness threatens recovery.
July 29, 2003: 2:11 PM EDT
By Mark Gongloff, CNN/Money Staff Writer
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - For months, U.S. businesses have been skeptical about the economy's prospects, despite the rosy predictions of economists, while consumers have continued to spend money, keeping the economy afloat.
But if recent surveys are any indication, those roles apparently have reversed -- just as businesses feel the first faint stirrings of optimism that the second half of 2003 will get a boost from tax cuts, low interest rates and more, consumers are beginning to voice their disappointment with the longest labor-market slump since World War II.
The latest consumer sentiment survey from the Conference Board, a New York research firm, was surprisingly weak in July, as consumers' comfort with the present and optimism about the future both crumbled under the weight of labor-market weakness.
"Ultimately, for the economic recovery to sustain itself, we have to see the labor market improve," said Ethan Harris, chief economist at Lehman Brothers. "As the tax-cut benefits fade, consumers will look for more fundamental reasons to spend money, and there will have to be some job growth."
More than 2.5 million jobs have been lost since March 2001, when economists believe a recession began. Though the recession apparently ended in November 2001, labor market weakness has continued.
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