ANN ARBOR – The small June gain in consumer confidence was not as meaningful as the fact that the Sentiment Index has remained largely unchanged at its current level for the past six months. This was remarkable given the sizeable 1st quarter drop in GDP. Consumers believe the 1st quarter decline in economic activity was due to the harsh winter weather, and that the economy has already returned to positive economic growth. The dismissal of the economy's poor performance was made possible by healthy job growth. Indeed, the June survey recorded the largest proportion of households that reported making financial gains in nearly seven years.

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