U.S. Consumer Confidence Highest Since ’69

U.S. consumer confidence unexpectedly surged in December to the highest level in three decades, a sign Americans are ignoring Asia’s economic woes and reaping the benefits of low unemployment as a new year dawns, a report showed Tuesday.

The Conference Board, a private business research group, said its index of consumer confidence jumped to 134.5 this month from a revised 128.1 in November, marking the highest reading since June 1969, when the index stood at 137.9.

Before Tuesday’s report, economists expected confidence to weaken in December.

“Consumers expect . . . favorable conditions to continue, and they’re not picking up anything in the work force or in their communities or in business conditions that’s signaling anything negative is in the works,” said Lynn Franco, associate director of the Conference Board’s Consumer Research Center.

In particular, continued faith in the employment market bolstered confidence in December, Franco said.

“Favorable labor market conditions continue to be a primary driving force in consumers’ positive assessment of current conditions,” she said.

Nearly 41% of the 5,000 households surveyed rated jobs as “plentiful” in December, up from 36.4% the previous month. In addition, fewer respondents said jobs had become more difficult to obtain.

That positive sentiment lifted consumers’ appraisals of both their current situation and their expectations for the future, Franco said.

Retailers, though, probably won’t see a big jump in spending--just a continuation of the restrained pace witnessed during the holidays, said Audrey Guskey, a marketing professor at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh. That’s because baby boomers are stashing away money for retirement and trying to “simplify their lives,” she said. “In the ‘90s, we’re cutting back. We have too many material goods.”