Rasmussen Consumer Index Consumer Confidence Declines Following Passage of Bailout Bill Monday, October 06, 2008
Consumer and investor confidence have both fallen since Congressional approval of the economic bailout legislation.
The Rasmussen Consumer Index, which measures economic confidence on a daily basis, fell three points on Monday to 68.5. This is the first update based entirely on interviews conducted after Congress passed the federal bailout legislation Friday. The Index has fallen three points since that legislation was passed, and is down fourteen points from last month.
Just 8% of Americans rate the economy good or excellent, while 62% rate it as poor. While 11% of men give the economy positive ratings, just 7% of women agree. Sixty-five percent (65%) of women and 58% of men give the economy a poor rating.
The Rasmussen Investor Index shows a similar trend, with investor confidence down two points on Monday since the bailout was approved. At 75.2, the Investor Index is down nineteen points from a month ago. Among investors, 10% rate the economy good or excellent, while 57% rate it as poor.
At the time the bailout was passed by Congress, just 30% of voters favored the legislation and 45% were opposed.
Full month numbers released today show that consumer confidence is down for September. The Rasmussen Consumer Index for the full month of September was at 78.3, down from 79.7 in August. This is the seventh straight month the Index has been below 80. Previously, it had never fallen that low in any month since the Index was established in October 2001.
The decline in confidence for September contradicts the results released yesterday by the Conference Board, but the difference is primarily one of timing. Conference Board data was based upon responses from earlier in the month and did not capture data from the last week or so of the month.
The Rasmussen Investor Index for the full month of September finished at 88.8, down four from 93.0 in August.
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The Rasmussen Consumer Index and Investor Index are derived from nightly telephone surveys of 500 adults and reported on a three-day rolling average basis. The baseline for the Index was established at 100.0 in October 2001. Readings above 100.0 indicate that confidence is higher than in the baseline month. Detailed supplemental information is available for Premium Members. Historical data for the Consumer and Investor indexes as well as attitudes about the economy and personal finances are also available to Premium Members.
The Rasmussen Consumer Index reached its highest level ever at 127.0 on January 6, 2004. The all-time low was reached on June 10, 2008 at 66.2.
The Rasmussen Investor Index reached its highest level ever at 150.9 on January 7, 2004. The lowest level ever measured was 73.0 on October 2, 2008.
The baseline for the Rasmussen Consumer Index was established at 100.0 in October 2001. The current reading of 68.5 that overall levels of economic confidence are lower today than the confidence level in the aftermath of the 9-11 terrorist attacks.
Rasmussen Reports is an electronic publishing firm specializing in the collection, publication, and distribution of public opinion polling information.
The Rasmussen Reports ElectionEdge™ Premium Service for Election 2008 offers the most comprehensive public opinion coverage ever provided for a Presidential election.
Scott Rasmussen, president of Rasmussen Reports, has been an independent pollster for more than a decade.
The current Index data is from a national telephone survey of 1,500 adults conducted by Rasmussen Reports over the past three nights. The margin of sampling error for each individual question in the survey is +/- 2.6 percentage points, with a 95% level of confidence. This survey is part of a larger series of data used to compile the Rasmussen Index on a daily basis.
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