March sees fall in consumer confidence

In its latest data, based on 6,000 interviews carried out every month, consumer confidence declined from 107.7 in February to 107 in March, largely due to decreases in household finance, business activity and job security metrics.

It was the first fall in consumer confidence on the YouGov and Cebr index since July 2023, and cam ein the same month that the government presented its Spring Budget. 

For household finances, retrospective measures cover the past 30 days dropped from 87.7 to 87.2, and outlook for the year ahead fell from 95 to 92.2.

Workers were less optimistic about their job security over the past 30 days, with scores falling from 97.1 to 95.8, while outlook for job security stagnated at 115.9, down from 116.

However, there was more optimism around business activity at employees’ workplaces, with measures rising from 109.8 to 110.2 for the past month, but scores for the next 12 months fell from 124.2 to 120.4.

Among homeowners, retrospective scores saw little movement from 110.3 to 110.4, but outlook for the year ahead improved from 121.7 to 123.6.