Business statistics :Consumer sentiment jumps to five-year high ( US)

Following last week’s employment report, U.S. consumer sentiment jumped from 78.3 in September to 83.1 for the October reading, according to a report from Reuters. The reading was the highest reported since September 2007

“What changed was how they (consumers) evaluated economic conditions,” survey director Richard Curtin told Thomson Reuters in a statement. “Economic conditions during the year ahead were expected to be ‘good’ by more consumers, and more consumers expected ‘good’ economic times over the next five years.”

The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index was projected to fall by a median forecast of 7 points, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg. Despite jumping almost five points, Friday’s report still sits six points below the average of 89 that was experienced in the five years leading up to the recession in 2007, Bloomberg reported.

Improved readings in consumer sentiment come a week after the Bureau of Labor and Statistics reported the unemployment rate dropped to 7.8 percent in September, a 44-month low, and a few weeks after the Conference Board reported that consumer confidence rose 9 points to 70.3 in September.