Consumer confidence remains static

Consumer confidence remained unchanged during October as Britons fretted about rising unemployment in the coming months, research from Nationwide has shown

Consumer confidence remained unchanged during October as Britons fretted about rising unemployment in the coming months, research has shown.

Nationwide's consumer confidence index was static at 72 during October, despite a slight pick-up in people's optimism about the current economic situation.

There was also a rise in the number of people who think the economy will improve during the coming half year, with 42% of people expecting it to be better in six month's time than it is currently.

This was the highest level since the group first started the index in May 2004, while only 15% of people expect the economy to be worse going forward, the lowest proportion on record.

But there was a 2% rise in the number of people who expect there to be few jobs available six months down the line at 52%, which helped to reduce the group's expectations index from 108 to 106 in October.

Martin Gahbauer, Nationwide's chief economist, said: "It was largely expected that official figures released in October would show that the UK has come out of recession and this, along with further rises in house prices, may have helped to buoy positive sentiment towards the current situation during the month.

"Surprisingly, however, the UK's gross domestic product was reported to have contracted for the sixth consecutive quarter.

"Nonetheless, there does appear to be a growing belief among consumers that, while the current situation is still somewhat downbeat, the future outlook is brighter."

One in 10 people think the current economic situation is good, the first time this measure has hit double digits since September 2008. But 68% of people still think the economy is in bad shape, although this is well down on the 86% of people who felt the same way in February.

Consumers were more upbeat about house prices, predicting the cost of the average home would rise by 1.5% during the coming six months, the highest increase predicted since house prices peaked in October 2007. TNS questioned 1,000 people between September 21 and October 18.