UCI

Orange County is continuing on its course of heady consumer confidence, with scores recovering from last year's slight dip caused by worries about the short-term national outlook. The Orange County Consumer Confidence Index now stands at 111, which is the highest score measured since the Orange County Annual Survey began tracking this in 1986. The local index stands well ahead of the U.S. Consumer Confidence Index, now at 105. The Orange County Index climbed 6 points since the 1998 survey, while the U.S. Index rose by 5 points. Here are the results for the individual items that make up the five-question Consumer Confidence Index:

71% expect good times for the U.S. economy next year, while 16% predict bad times. Optimism has rebounded with a 12-point increase since 1998.
58% believe the U.S. will have continued good economic times during the next five years, while 25% expect bad times. This 33-point gap between optimists and pessimists is the most positive long-term U.S. outlook we have on record.
55% say they are financially better off now than a year ago, while only 12% are worse off. The 43-point gap between those who are better off and those who are worse off amounts to a 7-point increase from last year.
51% expect to be financially better off next year than they are now, while 4% think they will be worse off. The number with bright expectations is unchanged from 1998.
72% think now is a good time for major purchases, while 12% call it a bad time. This highly positive attitude toward spending is unchanged from last year.