Tables
Table 1A: Personal finances
Questions: |
Better |
Same |
Worse |
Unsure |
|
Would you say you and your family living there are better off or worse off financially than you were a year ago? |
2009 |
13% |
28% |
58% |
1% |
2008 (Oct) |
13% |
27% |
58% |
2% |
|
2008 (Jun) |
20% |
23% |
54% |
3% |
|
2008 (Mar) |
25% |
23% |
49% |
2% |
|
2008 (Jan) |
27% |
30% |
41% |
2% |
|
2007 |
30% |
34% |
35% |
1% |
|
2006 |
35% |
30% |
35% |
2% |
|
2005 |
37% |
31% |
31% |
2% |
|
2004 |
36% |
32% |
30% |
2% |
|
2003 |
29% |
31% |
39% |
1% |
|
Now looking ahead—do you think that a year from now you (and your family living there) will be better off financially or worse off? |
2009 |
46% |
16% |
25% |
13% |
2008 (Oct) |
37% |
16% |
29% |
18% |
|
2008 (Jul) |
34% |
14% |
36% |
16% |
|
2008 (Mar) |
40% |
15% |
35% |
10% |
|
2008 (Jan) |
37% |
19% |
33% |
12% |
|
2007 |
42% |
22% |
27% |
10% |
|
2006 |
42% |
18% |
30% |
11% |
|
2005 |
52% |
17% |
19% |
12% |
|
2004 |
55% |
19% |
15% |
11% |
|
2003 |
48% |
20% |
22% |
11% |
Table 1B: business conditions
Would you say that at the present time business conditions in New Jersey are better or worse than they were a year ago? |
2009 |
3% |
5% |
88% |
3% |
2008 |
18% |
12% |
56% |
14% |
|
2007 |
24% |
19% |
41% |
16% |
|
2006 |
33% |
15% |
37% |
16% |
|
2005 |
36% |
15% |
37% |
12% |
|
2004 |
33% |
14% |
43% |
11% |
|
2003 |
15% |
10% |
68% |
7% |
|
And how about a year from now—do you expect during the next 12 months business conditions in New Jersey will be better or worse than they are at present? |
2009 |
42% |
11% |
37% |
9% |
2008 |
28% |
15% |
42% |
16% |
|
2007 |
37% |
17% |
30% |
16% |
|
2006 |
43% |
13% |
27% |
17% |
|
2005 |
52% |
11% |
21% |
16% |
|
2004 |
56% |
10% |
21% |
13% |
|
2003 |
43% |
11% |
34% |
12% |
Table 1C (by age)
Question: Would you say you (and your family) are better off or worse off financially than you were a year ago? |
Respondents aged: |
||||
18-29 |
30-44 |
45-59 |
60+ |
||
Better Off |
25% |
17% |
10% |
7% |
|
Worse Off |
55% |
51% |
67% |
54% |
|
The Same |
18% |
31% |
22% |
37% |
|
Not sure |
2% |
1% |
1% |
2% |
|
Question: Do you think that a year from now you (and your family) will be better off financially, or worse off? |
|||||
Better Off |
65% |
49% |
44% |
38% |
|
Worse Off |
22% |
24% |
29% |
26% |
|
The Same |
4% |
17% |
15% |
19% |
|
Not sure |
8% |
9% |
12% |
16% |
|
Table 1D (by party affiliation)
Question: Do you think that a year from now you (and your family) will be better off financially or worse off? |
|||||||||||||
January 2009 |
January 2008 |
January 2007 |
January 2006 |
||||||||||
Rep |
Dem |
Ind |
Rep |
Dem |
Ind |
Rep |
Dem |
Ind |
Rep |
Dem |
Ind |
||
Better Off |
41% |
50% |
43% |
35 |
39 |
29 |
44 |
42 |
39 |
42 |
44 |
38 |
|
Worse Off |
31% |
22% |
29% |
34 |
31 |
34 |
27 |
25 |
31 |
33 |
28 |
29 |
|
The Same |
16% |
16% |
15% |
18 |
18 |
27 |
20 |
23 |
22 |
16 |
19 |
19 |
|
January 2005 |
|||
Rep |
Dem |
Ind |
|
Better Off |
59 |
48 |
46 |
Worse Off |
15 |
22 |
23 |
The Same |
19 |
17 |
14 |
Table 1E (by race and income)
Question: Would you say you (and your family) are better off or worse off financially than you were a year ago? |
Better |
Same |
Worse |
Unsure |
|
All |
13% |
28% |
58% |
1% |
|
White |
12% |
29% |
57% |
2% |
|
Non- white |
17% |
21% |
61% |
1% |
|
0-50K |
8% |
22% |
68% |
1% |
|
51-100K |
12% |
24% |
63% |
1% |
|
101-150K |
19% |
27% |
54% |
||
150+ |
25% |
36% |
38% |
1% |
|
Question: Now looking ahead--do you think that a year from now you (and your family living there) will be better off financially or worse off? |
Better |
Same |
Worse |
Unsure |
|
All |
46% |
16% |
25% |
13% |
|
White |
43% |
16% |
29% |
11% |
|
Non- white |
54% |
14% |
15% |
17% |
|
0-50K |
48% |
13% |
25% |
14% |
|
51-100K |
50% |
12% |
28% |
10% |
|
101-150K |
45% |
20% |
27% |
9% |
|
150+ |
48% |
16% |
28% |
8% |
Table 2
Question: |
Yes |
No |
|
Have you, or anyone of your relatives or close friends lost a job in the past year? |
2009 |
54% |
46% |
2008 |
38% |
61% |
|
2007 |
35% |
64% |
|
2006 |
32% |
67% |
|
2005 |
39% |
61% |
Table 3A (2008)
Question: |
In the past year… (2008)? |
In the next 12 months, (2009) will you…? |
In the past year… (2007)? |
In the next 12 months (2008)? |
|||||
Yes |
No |
Yes |
No |
un- |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
No |
|
Buy or lease a car |
22% |
78% |
18% |
78% |
3% |
25% |
75% |
18% |
77% |
Purchase stocks or other types of investments outside your pension plan |
23% |
76% |
25% |
70% |
5% |
28% |
71% |
33% |
62% |
Buy a major home appliance |
28% |
72% |
21% |
73% |
6% |
33% |
66% |
23% |
72% |
Make a major home improvement or repair over $1000 |
38% |
61% |
33% |
63% |
4% |
42% |
58% |
34% |
62% |
Purchase an airline ticket for a pleasure trip |
38% |
62% |
45% |
50% |
5% |
46% |
54% |
49% |
46% |
Go away on vacation for a week or more |
51% |
49% |
61% |
34% |
5% |
53% |
47% |
63% |
32% |
Buy a computer |
26% |
74% |
15% |
81% |
3% |
34% |
66% |
22% |
75% |
Refinance your house or take a home equity loan |
8% |
91% |
11% |
84% |
5% |
11% |
88% |
6% |
91% |
Buy or build a house |
4% |
96% |
5% |
92% |
3% |
6% |
94% |
5% |
92% |
Visit an Atlantic City casino |
27% |
73% |
27% |
69% |
4% |
28% |
72% |
26% |
68% |
Increase the unpaid balance on your credit card |
24% |
74% |
7% |
89% |
2% |
27% |
70% |
13% |
84% |
Table 3b (2007, 2006)
Question: |
In the past year (2006) did you…? |
In the next 12 months, do you expect to…? |
In the past year (2005) did you …? |
In the next 12 months, do you expect to…? |
||||
January 2007 |
January 2006 |
|||||||
Yes |
No |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
No |
Yes |
No |
|
Buy or lease a car |
29 |
70 |
19 |
76 |
28 |
72 |
16 |
81 |
Purchase stocks or other types of investments outside your pension plan |
35 |
64 |
38 |
57 |
33 |
65 |
34 |
59 |
Buy a major home appliance |
35 |
65 |
25 |
67 |
37 |
63 |
27 |
67 |
Make a major home improvement or repair over $1000 |
43 |
57 |
42 |
53 |
44 |
56 |
35 |
60 |
Purchase an airline ticket for a pleasure trip |
43 |
56 |
52 |
42 |
48 |
52 |
52 |
43 |
Go away on vacation for a week or more |
59 |
41 |
68 |
28 |
55 |
45 |
66 |
29 |
Buy a computer |
31 |
69 |
20 |
76 |
28 |
72 |
22 |
74 |
Refinance your house or take a home equity loan |
14 |
85 |
7 |
90 |
16 |
83 |
6 |
91 |
Buy or build a house |
7 |
93 |
10 |
88 |
8 |
92 |
7 |
90 |
Visit an Atlantic City casino |
31 |
69 |
32 |
63 |
34 |
66 |
33 |
62 |
Increase the unpaid balance on your credit card |
24 |
74 |
6 |
91 |
23 |
75 |
6 |
92 |
Table 4
Question: Now thinking about the outstanding balance on your credit cards-- how difficult is it to make payments on the balances? Would you say it is... |
|||||||
2009 |
2008 |
2007 |
2006 |
2005 |
2004 |
2003 |
|
Very Difficult |
8% |
7% |
5% |
7% |
6% |
9% |
8% |
Somewhat Difficult |
23% |
18% |
20% |
18% |
19% |
16% |
16% |
Not Very Difficult |
17% |
20% |
20% |
17% |
19% |
17% |
22% |
Not At All Difficult |
36% |
39% |
40% |
42% |
40% |
39% |
36% |
Don’t Use/Have |
14% |
14% |
12% |
13% |
14% |
18% |
18% |
Unsure |
1% |
3% |
3% |
3% |
2% |
2% |
-- |
Table 5
Question: During the next 12 months, do you think that housing prices in your area will go up or go down? |
||||||||||||
2009 |
renters |
owners |
<50 |
50-100 |
100-150 |
150+ |
2008 |
2007 |
2006 |
2005 |
2004 |
|
Up |
28% |
33% |
26% |
30% |
32% |
25% |
23% |
38 |
46 |
55 |
81 |
80 |
Same |
50% |
54% |
50% |
47% |
53% |
56% |
54% |
9 |
12 |
12 |
4 |
11 |
Down |
14% |
7% |
16% |
12% |
10% |
17% |
16% |
47 |
38 |
28 |
10 |
6 |
unsure |
8% |
7% |
8% |
11% |
5% |
2% |
7% |
6 |
4 |
5 |
5 |
4 |
Table 6
Question: If you were suddenly to get an extra $1000, do you think you would |
||||||
2009 |
2008 |
2007 |
2006 |
2005 |
2004 |
|
Save it |
31% |
34% |
39% |
38% |
36% |
33% |
Spend it |
15% |
11% |
15% |
17% |
16% |
17% |
Use it to pay bills |
45% |
42% |
41% |
34% |
42% |
43% |
Other |
4% |
5% |
3% |
4% |
3% |
1% |
Give it to Charity |
3% |
6% |
1% |
5% |
-- |
-- |
Unsure |
1% |
2% |
2% |
2% |
3% |
2% |
Table 7
Question: At this point, has the financial crisis on Wall Street directly affected your finances or not? |
|||||||||
|
|
Age |
Children at home? |
Oct. 08 |
|||||
18-29 |
30-44 |
45-59 |
60+ |
yes |
no |
|
|||
|
Yes |
62% |
34% |
63% |
68% |
65% |
65% |
59% |
51% |
|
No |
36% |
61% |
35% |
31% |
33% |
33% |
39% |
46% |
|
Don’t know |
2% |
5% |
2% |
1% |
1% |
2% |
2% |
3% |
Table 8
[If employed, ask…] How worried are you that you might lose your job in the next 12 months…? |
||||||||
|
ALL |
18-29 |
30-44 |
45-59 |
60+ |
Oct. |
June |
|
|
Very worried |
10% |
9% |
10% |
11% |
6% |
12% |
7% |
|
Somewhat worried |
24% |
16% |
25% |
23% |
25% |
18% |
17% |
|
Not very worried |
23% |
28% |
19% |
24% |
26% |
18% |
21% |
|
Not at all worried |
43% |
48% |
46% |
42% |
42% |
52% |
53% |
|
Don’t know/ref. (vol) |
1% |
|
|
1% |
1% |
1% |
2% |
Table 9: Composite Number of All Consumer Activity (scale of 0 – 100)
The Index of Consumer Performance is a composite number of reported behavior over the past year. By contrast, the Index of Consumer Intentions is a composite number of consumer expectations about the coming year. Each number is based on a series of questions about the economy, personal finance, and consumer behavior. Responses about the direction of the economy and personal finances account for 40% of the composite. Consumer intentions regarding a variety of major expenditures over the past and coming year make up 50% of the index. And 10% of the composite number is a reflection of consumers’ comfort with personal debt. The scale can theoretically vary from 0 to 100.
Composite Number (scale of 0 – 100) |
Gender |
Party |
Age |
|||||||
All |
Male |
Female |
Dem |
Ind |
Rep |
18-29 |
30- |
45- |
60+ |
|
2009 Index of prospective Consumer Intentions |
39 |
40 |
37 |
40 |
35 |
38 |
45 |
42% |
36% |
36 |
2009 Index of past Consumer Performance |
24 |
26 |
23 |
24 |
20 |
27 |
24 |
29 |
22 |
23 |
2008 Consumer Intentions |
37 |
40 |
34 |
37 |
34 |
38 |
43 |
38 |
36 |
34 |
2008 Consumer Performance |
34 |
38 |
31 |
32 |
33 |
39 |
39 |
37 |
34 |
32 |
2007 Consumer Intentions |
40 |
42 |
39 |
42 |
37 |
40 |
48 |
45 |
39 |
37 |
2007 Consumer Performance |
38 |
39 |
36 |
38 |
36 |
40 |
37 |
43 |
36 |
36 |
2006 Consumer Intentions |
41 |
43 |
40 |
42 |
39 |
43 |
48 |
45 |
40 |
35 |
2006 Consumer Performance |
40 |
43 |
39 |
40 |
40 |
43 |
43 |
44 |
42 |
34 |
2005 Consumer Intentions |
45 |
48 |
43 |
44 |
44 |
50 |
50 |
48 |
43 |
41 |
2005 Consumer Performance |
43 |
47 |
41 |
41 |
42 |
48 |
44 |
47 |
42 |
38 |
2004 Consumer Intentions |
42 |
44 |
40 |
44 |
47 |
53 |
52 |
49 |
45 |
40 |
2004 Consumer Performance |
41 |
44 |
39 |
37 |
42 |
49 |
42 |
43 |
42 |
35 |
2003 Consumer Intentions |
42 |
|||||||||
2003 Consumer Performance |
33 |
|||||||||
# # #
see also:
Survey Analysis
Survey Details
