Floridians’ consumer confidence was unchanged in December and remained the same as in November, the University of Florida said Thursday. December’s figure, like the previous month was 74. Overall confidence reached a post-recession peak in September and October at 80, but is down six months for the second month.
“In November there was a clear reaction to the outcome of the election with confidence among Democrats increasing and confidence among Republicans decreasing,” Chris McCarty, director of UF’s Survey Research Center said. “In December that is still true with confidence among Republicans at 49 and among Democrats at 103, about the same as November.”
McCarty said age also affected survey results, as did worry about the fiscal cliff. The survey results also reflect growing pessimism about the next year and confidence in the U.S. economy fell six points to 73.
However, signs of economic recovery in Florida remain strong, as evidenced by the increase in the median price for single-family homes and the fall in the jobless rate to 8.1 percent, the lowest level since the recession ended.
McCarty added that declining gas prices and a resilient stock market offer even more good news. All these positive trends indicate that state revenues may be higher than estimated for the first time in years.
“Most economists believe that without the fiscal cliff the economy is on a solid path to recovery,” McCarty said. But the recovery will be jeopardized if Congress allows scheduled tax increases and spending cuts to occur.
The UF survey was conducted during the period Dec. 1-18, among 400 individuals and represents a demographic cross-section of Florida.
