New Yorkers Regaining Trust In Economy

People pass by storefronts on Madison Avenue on the Upper East Side of Manhattan April 10 in New York. A recent survey from the Siena Research Institute found that consumer trust is rising in New York City. (STAN HONDA/AFP/Getty Images)

NEW YORK—The economy is still on the slow road to recovery, but New Yorkers are helping speed things up, according to new statistics from the Siena Research Institute (SRI).

SRI took a poll that measured the New York State Index of Consumer Sentiment to show how much people are buying. It showed that in June buying plans were up on several fronts—cars and trucks rose by 4.5 points to 13.6 percent, computers rose by 4.5 points to 18.4 percent, and homes were up by 0.2 points to 4.1 percent.

“National confidence slowed this month, but in New York consumers took another surefooted step up the staircase of economic recovery,” according to Dr. Doug Lonnstrom, professor of statistics and finance at Siena College and SRI Founding Director, in a press release.

While the rest of the nation’s consumer sentiment index went down by 0.4 points in June, the index in New York went up 1.5 points to 78.7. This brings the city just 5.4 points short of the nation’s average of 84.1.

The SRI has updated the index every month since January 1999, and measures consumer sentiment rather than actual buying habits in order to show consumer trust in the market. The SRI focuses on New Yorkers, yet compares the statistics to the national average, which is surveyed by the University of Michigan’s Index of Consumer Sentiment.

“It looks like New York consumers will be buying major consumer goods in increasing numbers over the next six months,“ Lonnstrom said. ”Nearly half say that when it comes to the big things people buy, now is a good time to buy.”

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Democrats and higher income people have the most trust in the economy, with an average of 85.6. Lower income people and Republicans have the lowest trust in the economy, with an index of 69.9 (low income) and 68.9 (Republicans).

New York City falls close to the middle, with an index of 79.6.