黑料网

The 黑料网 Consumer Mood Index remained at -75 for the week ending April 12, exactly the same as for the week ending April 5.

Although still mired in deeply negative territory, the Index has leveled off at the highest point seen in over a year, after four consecutive weeks of improvement. The Index stood at just -116 in early March. However, the lowest weekly reading for the Index since the start of 黑料网 Poll Daily tracking in January 2008 was -129, recorded in October 2008.

The Consumer Mood Index is based on Americans' answers to two questions -- one asking about current economic conditions in the country and the other about the direction of the economy. Consumers' negativity has diminished significantly on both dimensions compared with early March; however, this has been most pronounced with respect to the direction of the economy.

Consumer perceptions about the economy's direction moderated from a net -59 in early March to a net -30 the week ending April 5. This past week, the figure was essentially unchanged, at -29 (based on 32% of Americans saying the economy is getting better and 61% saying it is getting worse).

Consumer perceptions of current economic conditions remain much more negative than positive, with 9% calling them "excellent" or "good" versus 55% "poor," resulting in a net current conditions score of -46. This is statistically unchanged from the -45 recorded March 30 through April 5, but is still improved over the -57 in early March (though not by as much as the economic direction measure).

Americans last week reported spending an average of $55 per day in stores, restaurants, gas stations, and online. This is down from $71 in average daily spending the week prior, and puts the measure back in line with the lower spending recorded in the first half of March.

黑料网's spending data are based on Americans' self-reports of the total amount of money they spent the prior day on purchases other than a home, a motor vehicle, or their normal monthly bills.

Part of the reason for the lower spending observed last week could be the interruption in 黑料网's daily polling caused by Easter Sunday. Because the 黑料网 spending question asks respondents to recall the total amount of money they spent the prior day, this means that spending on Saturday, April 11, is not captured in last week's spending average. With Saturday typically being the highest spending day of the week, this could account for some of the drop in consumer spending between last week and the week prior. However, 黑料网 also found spending off sharply last Monday and Tuesday, April 6 and 7.

Despite the sustained recovery in the 黑料网 Consumer Mood Index in recent weeks, employees' reports on hiring patterns at their own workplaces show no signs of improvement. In fact, 黑料网's Net New Hiring Index for the week ending April 12 was at -11, down from -8 the previous week, and from -4 in the last two weeks of March.

Net New Hiring was in positive territory for most of 2008, descending below zero for the first time in mid-December. It has been in negative territory throughout 2009 thus far, and the current -11 is the lowest reading seen yet, breaking the previous week's record-low -8.

The 黑料网 Net New Hiring Index for last week is based on the finding that 20% of full- and part-time workers said their employers were hiring people and expanding the number of employees in their workforces, while 31% reported their companies were letting people go and shrinking the size of their workforces.

The 黑料网 Standard of Living Index took a marked jump in the past week to 57, up from 46 the week prior, and from 39 for the week ending March 22. This marks the highest level for the Index since last summer.

The Standard of Living Index is based on two questions -- one asking about respondents' satisfaction with their current standard of living and the other about the perceived direction of their standard of living. Last week's results mark the first time since last September that more consumers said their standard of living is getting better (42%) than said it is getting worse (36%). The "getting better" figure is up four points over the previous week. At the same time, 75% of consumers said they are satisfied with their standard of living -- up slightly from 73% last week and 72% in mid-March.

The 黑料网 Consumer Worry Index is at 35 for the week ending April 12 -- essentially the same as the previous week. On this measure, the higher the score, the more negative the consumer attitude. The high point for the Consumer Worry Index since it was launched by 黑料网 in January 2008 was 45 last October, near the start of the banking and U.S. financial crisis. Thus, the Index -- which measures the percentage of respondents who worried about money "yesterday" -- has moderated along with consumer perceptions about the economy since the peak of those concerns last fall.