Economic effects of oil spill cut Florida’s consumer confidence

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The impact of the gulf oil spill combined with the lingering overall economic malaise has Floridians feeling much worse off than they did a year ago, according to a new University of Florida survey.

Consumer confidence fell three points in June to 67, but the biggest decline of all components in the survey was in perceptions of personal finances now compared with a year ago. That measure fell nine points to 45. Perceptions of personal finances one year from now fell four points to 75.

“We had expected consumer confidence to decline due to the effects of the oil spill,” said Chris McCarty, survey director of the Bureau of Economic and Business Research. “What we did not expect was the main effect to be in the components measuring perceptions of personal finances both now and in the future.”

The personal finance questions tend to be much less volatile than those looking at national trends and reflect real effects on consumers that tend not to rebound quickly.

“The decline in the personal finance questions suggests that on top of the weak recovery, the oil spill has caused some real economic pain, such as through jobs related to tourism and perceptions of lower property values,” he said. “We don’t expect this decline in perceptions of personal finances to turn around quickly.”

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Economic effects of oil spill cut Florida’s consumer confidence - University of Florida News - June 29, 2010

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