OHIO CONSUMERS Poll shows drop in confidence over businesses' performance

Only 29 percent of those polled expect the financial condition of their family to improve in the next year.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR POLITICS WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Consumer confidence about the future performance of U.S. businesses took a significant drop in a state poll, but about two-thirds of those polled said it is a good time to make a major household purchase.
An Ohio Poll, released Monday, shows that 38 percent of those asked expect good financial times during the next year for businesses, compared with 50 percent who believed that in April, the last time the poll asked that question.
The latest poll showed that 42 percent of those asked expect bad financial times in the upcoming year for businesses, compared with 30 percent who felt that way in the last poll. Twenty percent believe businesses will experience both good and bad times in the next year, the same percentage as the last poll.
The Ohio Poll, sponsored by the University of Cincinnati, conducted a telephone poll Sept. 4-15, but not Sept. 11, of 902 randomly selected Ohioans. The margin of error is 3.3 percent.
Looking ahead
Those polled were asked about their family's financial condition a year from now, business conditions for the next year, and if now was a good time to make major household purchases such as furniture, a refrigerator, a stove and/or a television.
Despite concerns about the future success of businesses, 66 percent of those polled said now was a good time to make a major purchase. That is up 2 percentage points from the previous poll.
Also, only 29 percent of those polled expect the financial condition of their family to improve in the next year, down 4 percentage points from the last poll.
The 29-percent figure is the second lowest in the poll's history. The worst figure was 26 percent in November 2001, less than two months after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
The latest poll showed 59 percent expect their family's financial condition to remain the same a year from now, and 12 percent say it will be worse off.
skolnick@vindy.com