Even though economic stimulus checks are putting money back in taxpayers' pockets, the extra cash has not stopped consumer confidence in Florida from falling to a near all-time low.
UF's Survey Research Center in the Bureau of Economic and Business Research released data Tuesday that showed the consumer confidence index dropped to 65 this month - one point lower than April's index and the lowest it has been since reaching 64 during the 1991 recession.
The index was 82 in May 2007.
The UF survey is meant to predict buying patterns and measures how state residents feel about spending money. The index measures consumers' feelings about the economy on a scale of zero to 100. In May, the Internal Revenue Service began sending economic stimulus checks of up to $600 to taxpayers who filed a 2007 tax return and had at least $3,000 of income.
Chris McCarty, director of the Survey Research Center, said the arrival of stimulus checks failed to improve consumer confidence because the economy is suffering from rising gas prices, consumer debt and unstable housing prices. McCarty said he initially believed the arrival of stimulus checks would cause a temporary spike in consumer confidence because the survey is completed every month and is sensitive to changes in the country's social and economic climate.
"When things like this happen that people would respond to emotionally, it usually registers," he said, "but we're just not seeing it this time."
