Because consumer spending drives two thirds of the US economy, consumer confidence, sentiment and expectations have the ability to move stock and bond prices and are use to predict economic growth. They tend to be leading indicators, meaning they improve before the economy turns around.
Together, my students are a good sample of the college population in the state of Massachusetts. By analyzing how you and your family feel about the economy, we may be able to predict whether the Massachusetts economy will improve, stay the same, or worsen over the next few months. So, let’s try a little experiment this week!
How do you and your family feel about the Massachusetts economy today. Do you feel the economy is growing? Do you think the employment situation is improving? Are you planning on spending more this holiday season than you spent last year? Do you have more access to credit than you had last year?
I will let you know the results next week.
Tags: Consumer Confidence, Consumer Expectations, Consumer Sentiment
How do you and your family feel about the Massachusetts economy today. Do you feel the economy is growing? Do you think the employment situation is improving? Are you planning on spending more this holiday season than you spent last year? Do you have more access to credit than you had last year?
I feel that the economy is inching its way back to health and my family believes the same. The employment situation is still a struggle but once consumer spending starts to grow at all so will the employment rate, they almost go hand and hand.I will not be spending anywhere close to as much as i have in past years and my family is in the same situation. The economic breakdown has really hurt our wallets. The access to credit hasn’t had too much effect on us basically because we haven’t looked to credit cards during this time because like many we would be in debt up to our eyeballs. The economy is going to grow again but it is going to talk a good amount of time to do so.
It defiantly feels like we are in a Recession but i believe we are defiantly making a come back. People learn how to adapt and survive with the times. The hardest thing right now is to find a job but it has always been a struggle. The key right now is education without education people are defiantly lost. I believe that this economy will be fixed in the next 10 years. It is a tough situation but people will survive like they have been doing for millions on years
It seems as though the economy is making a slow recovery but we are not out of the woods yet. My family and I are spending more money on presents this holiday season but the employment situation is still a concern. Both of my parents work in city jobs and with budget cuts and layoffs still being talked about at city hall there is still a chance they might loose their jobs. My credit situation has not improved i still have not been accepted by any credit card company I have applied for, which is kind of depressing, but at least it’s one way to keep me out of debt. With the economy growing slowly we can only hope to see a real difference soon.
How do you and your family feel about the Massachusetts economy today. Do you feel the economy is growing? Do you think the employment situation is improving? Are you planning on spending more this holiday season than you spent last year? Do you have more access to credit than you had last year?
My family and I feel that the Massachusetts economy today is going very badly. We feel that at times the economy gets a little better but overall the economy is getting lower and lower. The employment situation is not improving because everyone is settling with what they have because the situation is so bad that there are no other jobs available. This holiday season, my family and I have decided is the poorest season we will be having. I feel like we have less access to credit because people are afraid they will not be able to pay back the credit.
my family and i have felt the pinch of the recession. I do beleave that the worst is over and that we were able to discover the source of the
problem and stop it be for it does any more damage. unfortunetly the
road to recover will be along one. We have access to credit cards and this holiday season dosent look to be any diffrent from the previous ones
, at least for my family. But i have seen plenty of places hireing for holiday help, witch will give familys a financial boost this season.
A year ago I was living on my own at this time as a 19~20 year old, thankfully I’m a chef so I got to eat at work. I got to feel how it was to be unimaginably poor. Now I am in much better conditions making better choices in a bubble where my world isn’t really effected at all by the economy. Everybody in my family has secure good paying jobs either in healthcare or government so in our family there is little worry about employment. For spending this year I will spend a lot more then last year due to better living conditions. We feel that the economy is slowly turning around. I also have much more credit at my disposal but I do not chose to use it.
I personally feel that the Economy is on a slow rise. I work at Sears, working Black Friday, though we had great deals, helped me realize people are more purchase confident. Though, their attitudes are not completely fixed, they are becoming stronger and more confident. I asked my grandmother how she felt about the Economy and she responded with “The Economy is slowly growing. People are not afraid to do a little more Christmas shopping, going out to eat, or bringing the family to the movies. People are more apt to start spending a little more, rather than holding back”. When I asked her if the unemployment rate is declining she said “In some cases. The unemployment rate is still too high. It isn’t decreasing quick enough. People are forced to take jobs not par to their potential. People are taking jobs for money alone”. When I asked her if she was planning on spending more money this Christmas she responded “I will probably be spending the same, if not, a little more”. I asked her if she has more access to credit this holiday season and she said “No. I have always had great credit. However, I am using more credit than before because of the lack of funds”.
Although my family and I have not been greatly affected by the Massachusetts economy, we do realize that the economy is not at its best. According to my Mom, several of her friends are finding jobs, indicating that the employment situation is improving. This year we will not be spending as much on holiday gifts but not because of the economy, but because of new expenses that have come across such as my college tuition. I do have a lot more access to credit but only because I’m making a lot more money than I was last year. All in all, the economy is not where it should be but it is improving.
As of today my family and I feel that overall the economy is in very poor shape. My sister and I see it as being in below average form and my parents see it in far worse shape. I do feel the economy is growing, however I also think that the employee situation may get worse before getting any better, and may never be the same as it was pre-recession. For example the economy of Massachusetts grew the past few months and unfortunately the unemployment rate jumped four tenths of a percent to 10.2 percent. This may mean that our unemployment rate might remain structurally high as the economy recovers, especially if this pattern continues the majority of next year. This year for the holidays I will be planning to spend less than last year due to being laid off recently. I also have less access to credit since I have cancelled my only credit card.
I think that the economy is getting better but it would take years before we get out of the recession. As for my family they don’t really pay attention if it’s getting worse or better, but they do see how it’s impacting other people by losing homes and jobs. How the rate of people have been losing there job has slowed down, there’s still people that are unemployed and can’t find any jobs. I belive it’s not going to get any better until the economy recovers more. The more people spend the more job opportunities there could be and make the economy improve. As for me spending more money than last year, I will be spending less for the reason of not having a job and not having much money in the bank. I also have no credit at all because i never had a credit card, but will be planning on getting one next year if i find a job.
The economy is still tough and it’s not convincing that things are going to be alright. People are still out of work, losing their homes, and foreclosure is still happening. I think the economy will get better, but I think it will take time. The economy is growing slowly but the employment situation is not improving. People are still out or work, trying to get a job but there are no jobs out there. This year my family plans to save more money, spending less this year because money is still tight. My family does not have more credit this year because it was difficult to pay off the credit cards before with the job loss in the house, so we have poor credit. I don’t think the bad economy is stopping families from spending on the holiday season, if anything they are spending more because the economy is hopefully getting better.
How do you and your family feel about the Massachusetts economy today. Do you feel the economy is growing? Do you think the employment situation is improving? Are you planning on spending more this holiday season than you spent last year? Do you have more access to credit than you had last year?
I feel that the only reason there has been a minor boost in the economy is because of the stimulus packages, but this boost will only be temporary. During the summer North Andover high school was looking at having to lay off over 40 members of the staff but because of the package they were able to hold on to the staff for a little longer. Three months later they are slowly laying off those 40 members. I have already told my girlfriend,family and friends to not expect nice gifts this holiday. They might think Im just being selfish but thats not the case, I fear that this time next year I will have a hard time keeping a consistant job.
How do you and your family feel about the Massachusetts economy today. Do you feel the economy is growing? Do you think the employment situation is improving? Are you planning on spending more this holiday season than you spent last year? Do you have more access to credit than you had last year?
I feel that the only reason the economy has seen a slight improvement is because of the stimulus packages these however are only temporary. The packages put money into the economy in effort to boost consumers buying power, but it has not changed their mentality. As for the holiday seasons I have already told the people close to me to not expect nice gifts. Im not being selfish Im just worried that this time next year I will not have a consistant job and if I dont save now I wont have enough money next year.
My family believes that the economy has leveled off but that it is not really getting any better. I personally think that the economy is not improving in that I work at Shaw’s and I know that the Thanksgiving sales were much lower than was expected. The employment situation has not seemed to improve yet as I have heard that the graduating class if 2009 have a high rate of unemployment today. I am going to spend more on Christmas presents than last year because I have more love for people and I would like to stimulate the economy in the small ways that I can. I tried to get a credit card this week and was denied on the basis that I have no credit, so I had no credit card last year and I don’t have one this year either.
In looking at the recession and what we have been through as a country, I keep asking myself if someone of the situations we have been put in weer necessary. For example, did we need to do the bailout of the car companies or the “Cash for Clunkers”. I do believe that the economy is in better shape than we were a year ago. Layoffs are still coming and so forth. I know where I work that business has definitely picked up. As a country and economy, we still have a long way to go toward a full recovery.
The current economic recession has been tough on many families, like mine. Both my father and I were laid off from our jobs this past year and it only seemed like things could get worse. But luckily it seems the economy is turning around and my father is back to work, as am I. I feel the unemployment situation is slowly getting better with the revival of consumer and industrial spending. I am only working part time so I plan on spending much less than last year’s holiday season. Although I do have access to more credit, I do not plan on abusing it.
MAKE UP.
In my opinion, the economy is not getting better at a whole. I believe the economy will rise a little during the holiday season since consumers buy more. But I believe it will be less than last year because of unemployment, and because I believe people are giving more value to the money they have now because they don’t know what’s going to happen with the economy like it is. I also think employment is not improving. This year, I will probably spend around the same amount I spent last year.
I don’t have a credit card, and I don’t plan on getting one because I would probably buy everything with the amount of credit I would’ve have, and I would never have the money to pay it back because I always spend everything.
When asked about the Massachusetts economy my family felt that it is slowly improving but we have not seen any improvements yet but think in time we will. Although they do not fell the employment situation improving. But think that when we see improvements in the economy we will also see the employment rate increase. My family also said that they are not spending and different amount of money this Christmas from last years. I have seen that I have more access to credit then I have had in the past. In the mail I will receive credit card opportunities on a weekly bases.
In my opinion the economy is not showing any signs of growing in the contrary we still lossing jobs, enemployment rate is higher every month. On the other hand it seems that the public has learned to use their money a lillte wiser during this reccesion. In fact my family is not using credit at all for the expenses of this holiday season, we do have acces to credit but just don’t want to get in debt unless is really necesary. We are spending under our limits, and we all know that that is what got is into this very big mess in the firsr place, excesive use of credit.
My family and I agree that the economy may be at a stand-still right now. I do not believe unemployment is rising, from statistics, and the fact that I still am in need of a job for the winter season despite countless applications. For that reason, I personally am planning on spending much less in the holiday season. My parents are in the same predicament.
I feel that we are in the process of growing but its just really hard for our country to bounce back very quickly. the holiday season is one way to help give it a little push in a positive direction though. The employment issue i believe is still the same, i work in a supermarket and see maybe 10 to 20 people a day handing in applications or taking applications. I don’t have a credit card so i really don’t have nay access to credit unless you count my parents as a form of credit, they always lend me money if i really need it. finally as far as spending money on the holidays this year i am spending more than i did last year only because im getting older and feel i have to get everyone i get gifts for something better than i did last year, 10 years from now im gonna be in trouble if i keep this trend up.
Me and my family feel the economy is moving to slowly, and the employment situation is getting worst. I honestly will tell you i do have more access to credit this year but plan on spending less money on the holidays. Just because the credit is available dont mean you wont pay it back later in bundles. I just dont think the deals are out and since no one else is spending that means i should probly save instead os spend.
How do you and your family feel about the Massachusetts economy today. Do you feel the economy is growing? Do you think the employment situation is improving? Are you planning on spending more this holiday season than you spent last year? Do you have more access to credit than you had last year?
My family and i really do think the economy is becoming more stressful to us as individuals.The employment situation is not even helping situations but rather getting worse e.g i have a sister who just graduated as a nurse since may and still cannot find a job cause wherever she goes,she is been told they do not hire new grads that leaves me to wonder what is the essence of school if you dont get a job when you finish not to talk of the student loans waiting for one to pay.For this christmas i think its just going to be me spending less because now what the economy states is, the more you spend the less comes into your wallet thats just my own philosophy.Lastly even though i have more access to credit right now i really dont think i want to touch it in anyway but rather i would love to save it for something more relevant.
I beleave that the consumer confidense had deffinitly decreased since this recession started. More and more people have less money in their pockets these days do to higher taxes espesailly the middle class citizens. The only way i see consumer confidence go up is if we see a significant number in lowering the prices of all products , so that the consumer can feel more comfortable spending there dollar on a product that they feel is worth it. The Economay can only get better and by lowering the prices will help becuase now people wouldnt feel like there money is burnning a whole in their wallets.
How do you and your family feel about the Massachusetts economy today. Do you feel the economy is growing? Do you think the employment situation is improving? Are you planning on spending more this holiday season than you spent last year? Do you have more access to credit than you had last year?
Although the recession has affected the lives of many Americans, it has not substantially hurt my family’s financial situation. We no longer have a mortgage, we don’t own or run a business, and we have all managed to keep our jobs; this weak economy hasn’t made a difference in our expenses or income that wouldn’t have occured otherwise. Therefore, I have been spending the same amount of money as I did before the recession, and I plan to do so during the holidays also. People need to keep spending in order to stabalize the economy, so why would I stop doing what I’ve always done? Because the news and media is constantly putting fear into our minds about spending money and how terrible the economy is? If the economy hasn’t affected my life at this point (which I feel is the worst we’re going to see) then I’m not going to stress myself out over spending money on Christmas presents any more than I did two years ago. As far as credit goes, people who aren’t responsible enough to know what they can afford and aren’t able to pay it back are better off without it. Credit is a good thing for a lot of people including myself because it allows you to buy something you might not have the means to pay for fully at the time, but are able to pay for it gradually. The economy will start to improve soon and until then people should be smart about how they spend their money and use their credit. By spending money on things you know you have the means to pay for without being influenced by the government or media, everyone will be a lot less worried about their financial situation.
My family and I are definetly feeling the effects of teh economy due to my father owning a granite business which is hard to get business during a tim elike this because other people arent building new homes or renovating their homes due to the economy, ALthough the economy is slowly making a comeback im not entirely sure that the employment situation is improving because the unemployment rate is still high. I am definetly not spending as much money i spent on last year because its just not suitable for me this time and i told my parents that i am not expecting much for Christmas because i understand whats goin on with this recession.
It seems as though the economy is making a slow recovery but we are not out of the woods yet. My family and I are spending more money on presents this holiday season but the employment situation is still a concern. But think that when we see improvements in the economy we will also see the employment rate increase. My family also said that they are not spending and different amount of money this Christmas from last years.As a country and economy, we still have a long way to go toward a full recovery.
In my opinion I feel that the Massachusetts econimy is recovering slowly. After talking to some people I noticed that they have the same idea as I do. The employment opportunites are growing but not drastically as we would like it too. We are right now in a state of hurry up and wait, i believe that the worst is over, its all about improving from now on. This holiday season I will not be spending as much as usual, I actually have a budget this year. In conclusion, the economy in my point of view is getting better but for right now, for me I need to be in a strict budget.
My family and I believe there has been little improvement to the economy and do not plan to spend much money due to our tight budget. The unemployment number is not decreasing and jobs are not being made or insighted by the government. More money is given to government programs which seem pointless and which add to tax payers debt. The economy is not changing and the longer the economy stays this way the worse condition we are in for now and in the future.
My family and I feel as though the economy is Massachusetts is worse than ever. It seems as though many, many people are out of jobs and getting assistance from the government. I do not feel as though the economy is growing, nor is the employment situation in the state. I am planning on spending alot less money on Christmas than I did last year (but that does not have anything to do with with finances, I just went a little overboard last year!). I do not have as much access to credit this year.