Maybe Bush should read this instead of touting "two jobs here, three jobs
there = 5 new jobs!"

http://www.reuters.com/financeNewsAr...s&storyID =45
82293&section=investing

US consumer confidence at 10-month low-ABC/Money
Tue Mar 16, 2004 06:28 PM ET

NEW YORK, March 16 (Reuters) - U.S. consumer confidence fell sharply to its
lowest level in 10 months, a report said on Tuesday, in a sign Americans are
growing impatient with the economy's seeming inability to create new jobs.

ABC News/Money Magazine said its weekly Consumer Comfort index slid to -22
in the week to March 14 from -18 in the prior week, an unusually steep
decline for this indicator.

The gloom was pervasive, with the poll's individual readings on the current
state of the economy, personal finances and buying climate slipping
across-the-board.

Worse yet, consumer expectations tracked in a separate ABC/Money survey also
deteriorated. The number of respondents saying they were pessimistic about
the economy's future has swelled 15 percent over the past two months. Only
23 percent of Americans now believe the economy is getting better.

The grim consumer outlook was in line with the results of other sentiment
surveys, which have been hit hard as Americans become frustrated with a
jobless economic recovery.

While analysts caution that consumers have often kept spending money even as
they complain to confidence surveys, they worry that a persistent jobs rut
will eventually catch up with consumers, forcing them to tighten their purse
strings.

The ABC/Money survey was based on 1,000 interviews conducted in the month
ending March 14, and has a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage
points.