Consumer Spending Update: Americans Open Their Wallets Wider
As economic confidence stays perched among the highest levels in four years of surveying, consumers are ready to open their wallets again, just in time for the back-to-school shopping season.
The Rasmussen Reports Economic Index held steady at 139.7 this month, less than a point lower than July. This index rating is still among the highest in four years of surveying.
Enthusiasm about the economy started to grow immediately following Donald Trump's election as president in November 2016 and spiked at 145.9 in February of this year. By comparison, in President Obama’s final years in office, this index reached a high of 121.5 in January 2015 and was at 108.1 his last month in the White House.
Related Articles
Rasmussen Reports is a media company specializing in the collection, publication and distribution of public opinion information.
We conduct public opinion polls on a variety of topics to inform our audience on events in the news and other topics of interest. To ensure editorial control and independence, we pay for the polls ourselves and generate revenue through the sale of subscriptions, sponsorships, and advertising. Nightly polling on politics, business and lifestyle topics provides the content to update the Rasmussen Reports web site many times each day. If it's in the news, it's in our polls. Additionally, the data drives a daily update newsletter and various media outlets across the country.
Some information, including the Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll and commentaries are available for free to the general public. Subscriptions are available for $4.95 a month or 34.95 a year that provide subscribers with exclusive access to more than 20 stories per week on upcoming elections, consumer confidence, and issues that affect us all. For those who are really into the numbers, Platinum Members can review demographic crosstabs and a full history of our data.
To learn more about our methodology, click here.
