The index that measures Utah’s consumer sentiment fell again in April, according to the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute’s Survey of Utah Consumer Sentiment. The index decreased by 2.2 percent, from 78.0 in March to 76.3.
A similar survey by the University of Michigan found that sentiment decreased by 2.8 percent among Americans as a whole during the same time frame (from 79.4 to 77.2). Utah’s April consumer sentiment marks a second consecutive month of lower sentiment in Utah than the nation.
“Since the difference between the U.S. and Utah indices remains statistically insignificant, analysts hesitate to signal economic alarm bells,” said Natalie Gochnour, director at the Gardner Institute. “Still, the combination of tepid consumers, lower job growth (including contraction in two major industries — information and financial activities), a Federal Reserve holding on interest rate reductions and sticky inflation, suggests a continuing deceleration of growth in the Utah economy.”
The Utah consumer confidence survey uses key questions from the University of Michigan’s Survey of Consumers. These questions measure residents’ views of the present economic situation and their expectations for the economy in the future. Data gathered from the key questions are used to create the consumer confidence index for Utah. Demographic questions are included in the questionnaire to allow for additional analysis of the data and to assess the representativeness of the sample.
The graphic accompanying this story compares responses by Utah consumers to those from nationwide consumers polled by the University of Michigan.