US consumer confidence rises but exposes concerns about job market - Wells Fargo

According to analysts from Wells Fargo, consumers were apparently riding high before the UK referendum  rocked financial markets, but they warned that despite the gain, the data exposes some concerns about the job market.

Key Quotes:

“Consumers’ views on the present situation rose 5.1 points to 118.3, which is the highest it has been since September 2015. The June reading is of particular interest because it follows the surprisingly weak employment numbers for May, which were widely reported at the start of the month.”

“Consumers’ assessment of the labor market was mixed in June. The proportion of consumers stating that jobs were plentiful fell 1.1 points to 23.4 percent, while the proportion stating that jobs were hard to get fell 1.2 points to 23.3 percent, which left the labor market differential slightly positive at 0.1. The remaining 53 percent of consumers stated that jobs were not so plentiful.”

“Consumers’ mixed assessment of labor market conditions gives some tentative support to the notion that hiring has slowed amid concerns about sluggish global economic growth, rising compensation costs and political uncertainty.”

“Consumers also expressed more optimism about job and income growth in June (…)  June’s improvement, however, only partially reverses the deteriorating trend in expectations for income growth seen most of this year, which once again offers some confirmation of the softer employment numbers reported in recent months.”