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Consumer confidence hits 16-year low

May 27, 2008

The Conference Board's consumer confidence index hit a 16-year low in May, the organization announced. The index now stands at 57.2, down from 62.8 in April.

"Weakening business and job conditions coupled with growing pessimism about the short-term future have further depleted consumers' confidence in the overall state of the economy," said Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board consumer research center.

Consumers claiming conditions are "bad" rose to 30.6% from 26.5% in April, according to the index's survey. Those claiming jobs are plentiful fell to 16.3% from 17.1%.

The index's survey is based on a sample of 5,000 U.S. households.