Sept. 22, 2008, Toronto –
Canadians entered the first week of the federal election campaign with
a sense of hope for the economy as the latest results from TNS Canadian
Facts’ Consumer Confidence Index point to a rise in confidence in
September.
Canadians entered the first week of the federal election campaign with
a sense of hope for the economy as the latest results from TNS Canadian
Facts’ Consumer Confidence Index point to a rise in confidence in
September. The overall Consumer Confidence Index now stands at 99.6, up from 98.3 in August, and 96.5 in July.
“Although rising confidence over two consecutive months is welcome
news, it is largely a reflection of Canadians’ improved expectations
for the future, rather than positive assessments of how things are
going right now,” said Richard Jenkins, vice-president of TNS Canadian
Facts and director of the marketing research firm’s monthly tracking
study.
The Present Situation Index, which captures evaluations of the overall
state of the economy and the employment situation, stands at 106.9,
which is down from 108.3 in August, and suggests that Canadians remain
concerned about the current performance of the economy.
The Expectations Index, which measures consumers’ estimation of the
economy, household income and employment in the next six months, is the
main driver of positive sentiment when it comes to the economy. The
index now stands at 96.3, which is up considerably from 93.2
last month.
The Buy Index, which gauges the degree to which people think the
current period is a good time to make major purchases, also rose quite
significantly. The index now sits at 93.0, up from 90.0 recorded in
August.
“With further bad news about the financial sector in the U.S. hitting
the press after we completed our survey, we should expect consumers to
rethink their enthusiasm for the future,” added Jenkins.
Consumer Confidence Index tracks Canadians’ attitudes about the economy
each month and is part of a global study conducted by TNS in 18
countries. Three indices are produced each month to show how
confidence in the economy is changing: Present Situation Index; an
Expectations Index; and a Buy Index. The Canadian fieldwork is
conducted using the firm’s national bi-weekly telephone omnibus
service, TNS Express Telephone. A total of 1,015 nationally
representative Canadian adults were interviewed between September 8 and
12, 2008. For a survey sample this size, the margin of sampling error
is plus or minus 3.1 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.
TNS Canadian Facts (www.tns-cf.com) is one of Canada's most prestigious
full-service marketing, opinion and social research organizations.
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