SIENA RESEARCH INSTITUTE

SIENA COLLEGE, LOUDONVILLE, NY

 

For Immediate Release:  Wednesday, December 1, 2004

 

New York State Consumer Confidence down 3.0 pts to 78.5

Upstate leads Metro NYC in Overall, Current and Future Confidence

New York falls, the Nation rises, and the gap increases

 

Microsoft Word Version

Buying plans (Excel) 1

Monthly Summary (PDF) 2

Loudonville, NY – New York State consumer confidence went down 3.0 points overall in November, according to the latest poll by the Siena (College) Research Institute (SRI). At 78.5, New York State’s overall confidence is 14.3 points below the nation*; New York State’s 84.1 current confidence is 20.6 points below the nation.

 

November 2004

Consumer Confidence:

The

Nation

New York

State

diff.

pts

 

New York

State

Metro New York City

Upstate

NY

Overall

92.8 (+1.1)

78.5 (-3.0)

14.3

78.5 (-3.0)

77.3 (-4.9)

80.3 (+0.7)

Current

104.7 (+0.7)

84.1 (-0.4)

20.6

84.1 (-0.4)

81.9 (-0.8)

87.9 ( 0.0)

Future

85.2 (+1.4)

74.9 (-4.7)

10.3

74.9 (-4.7)

74.4 (-7.5)

75.4 (+1.2)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Each month, the SRI survey establishes a Consumer Confidence index number for New York State consumers. This index number allows a comparison of New Yorkers to all Americans (“the nation”) as surveyed by the University of Michigan’s Consumer Sentiment index. The SRI survey measures current and future consumer confidence, which combined provides the overall consumer confidence. SRI further looks at confidence in New York State by region (metro New York City and Upstate), age, income, gender and party.

 

Consumer Confidence in New York State: October/November 2004

(Groups listed in descending order by November’s Overall CCI Rating)

 

Overall

Current

Future

 

Oct.

Nov.

chng

Oct.

Nov.

chng

Oct.

Nov.

chng

Republicans

97.0

93.2

-3.8

101.5

98.5

-3.0

94.1

89.8

-4.3

Higher income

88.3

84.6

-3.7

95.9

93.2

-2.7

83.4

79.1

-4.3

Under Age 55

84.0

81.2

-2.8

87.1

86.4

-2.8

82.0

77.8

-4.2

Men

83.4

80.6

-2.8

88.7

84.9

-3.8

80.0

77.8

-2.2

Upstate NY

79.6

80.3

+0.7

87.9

87.9

no chg

74.2

75.4

+0.2

New York State

81.5

78.5

-3.0

84.5

84.1

-0.4

79.6

74.9

-4.7

Metro NYC

82.2

77.3

-4.9

82.6

81.9

-0.8

82.0

74.4

-7.5

Women

79.4

76.6

-2.8

80.3

83.4

+3.1

78.8

72.3

-6.5

Age 55+

77.3

74.4

-2.9

80.3

80.7

+0.4

75.4

70.3

-5.1

Lower income

73.5

70.5

-3.0

72.0

71.3

-0.7

74.4

70.1

-4.3

Democrats

71.7

70.1

-1.6

75.4

76.2

+0.8

69.3

66.2

-3.1

 

Overall Nov. CCI Stats:

Highest CCI:  93.2

(Republicans)               

Lowest CCI:  70.1

(Democrats)                    

Only rise: +0.7

(Upstate NY)

Current Nov. CCI Stats:

Highest CCI: 98.5

(Republicans)                 

Lowest CCI: 71.3

(Lower income)

Greatest rise: 3.1

(Women) 

Future Nov. CCI Stats:

Highest CCI: 89.8

(Republicans)

Lowest CCI: 66.2

(Democrats)

Only rise: +0.2

(Upstate NY)

 

Buying plans for are up for cars and trucks, 2.5 points to 15.3%; and for homes, 1.0 point to 5.5%. Buying plans are down for computers, 3.6 points to 12.6%; for furniture, 0.2 of a point to 21.9%; and for major home improvements, 2.8 points to 17.1%.

 

“After narrowing the gap with the nation last month, New Yorkers have fallen back again,” says Dr. Douglas Lonnstrom, professor of statistics and finance at Siena College and SRI Director.  Current confidence is particularly dismal: New York is more than 20 points behind the nation as a whole.  The heating season has only just begun and high energy prices already are taking their toll.  Of course, many New Yorkers were not happy with the election results.  Democrats have the lowest confidence of any group.”

 

The SRI survey of Consumer Confidence was conducted in November 2004 by random telephone calls to 621 New York State residents over the age of 18.  It has a margin of error of + 3.9 points.  For more information or comments, please call Dr. Douglas Lonnstrom, Siena College professor of finance and statistics and SRI Director, at 518-783-2362 (office) or 518-456-6073 (home). Survey cross-tabulations and frequencies can be found at www.siena.edu/sri/surveys.asp.  *National data compiled by the University of Michigan.