The preliminary reading of the consumer-sentiment survey rose to 78.9 in June from 72.3 in May, marking the second straight increase, the University of Michigan said June 12. In April it was at 71.8.
“The turnaround is largely due to renewed gains in employment, with more consumers expecting declines in the jobless rate than at any other time in the long history of the Michigan surveys,” said Richard Curtin, survey’s chief economist. “Despite the expected economic gains, few consumers anticipate the reestablishment of favorable economic conditions any time soon. Bad times financially in the economy as a whole during the year ahead were still expected by two-thirds of all consumers, and a renewed downturn was anticipated by nearly half over the longer term. The most often cited cause of a renewed downturn is a resurgence in the spread of the coronavirus, and the most often cited c
