Following a fairly significant drop in October, Utah’s consumer sentiment rebounded slightly — up 3.2 percent — in November, according to the Zions Bank Consumer Sentiment Survey.
The survey, prepared in partnership with the University of Utah’s Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute, found a rise from 73.4 in October to 75.8 in November. Although the change is within the survey’s margin of error, it signaled that Utah consumer confidence is not in a downward trend.
A similar survey conducted by the University of Michigan reported that sentiment fell 4.9 percent among Americans as a whole during November. This change is also within that survey’s margin of error.
“Utah consumer sentiment increased in November, reversing a contraction the previous month and a continued downward trend in national sentiment,” said Robert Spendlove, Zions Bank senior economist. “Utah consumer sentiment also continues to exceed national sentiment.”
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 full results of the monthly Zions Bank Consumer Sentiment Survey can be accessed at https://gardner.utah.edu/zions-bank-consumer-sentiment-survey/.