Increasingly positive media coverage of consumer spending boosted the Dow Jones Economic Sentiment Indicator to 38.3 in November, up 1.4 points from a reading of 36.9 in October.
The indicator, based on news coverage in 15 major daily U.S. newspapers, has risen 11 out of the past 12 months since its low of 22.2 in November 2008—largely in line with the consensus of economists that the U.S. recession ended in early summer.
One theme of the past few months has been an increase in shopping, indicating that consumer confidence is on the rise.
“The Dow Jones Economic Sentiment Indicator climbed to its highest level since August 2008, suggesting the U.S. economic recovery is entrenched and that the number of jobs lost during the month continued to shrink sharply,” said Dow Jones Newswires “Money Talks” Columnist Alen Mattich. “Market expectations for November job losses have been falling, a view supported by the indicator. This, in turn, could underpin retail sentiment over the next month.”
