Consumer Confidence Cools Slightly

After posting back-to-back 17-year highs, the consumer confidence index cooled slightly in the December report, to 122.1 vs a revised 128.6 in November and 126.2 in October. But very importantly the cooling doesn't include the assessment of the current jobs market where only 15.2 percent say jobs are hard to get vs 16.8 and 17.1 percent in the prior two months. This reading is closely watched and will confirm expectations for another strong monthly employment report (which will be next week's economic highlight).

Strength in other readings eased especially the assessment of the future job markets where optimists fell nearly 2 percentage points to 18.4 percent and pessimists rose more than 4 points to 16.3 percent. Other details include a gain for those seeing their income rising which is offset however by an increase among those who see their income falling.

But it's the strength of the jobs-hard-to-get reading that dominates this report and more than offsets slowing in other readings.

Recent History Of This Indicator:
Consumer confidence, at 129.5, is coming off a 17-year high in November when assessments of employment, income expectations and the stock market were all once again unusually strong. The Econoday consensus is calling for 128.0 in December.