MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (WMOT) -- For the second quarter in a row mid-state consumer confidence has risen sharply.
Dr. Tim Graeff conducts the survey for Middle Tennessee State University. He says there was a troubling drop in consumer confidence at the end of 2013, but midway through 2014 mid-state residents are clearly feeling better about both the local and national economies.
“Given that they’re a little more optimistic about the economy, we asked them whether they think they’re going to be spending more or less than they did last year, and we saw an increase in the percentage who said they were going to be spending more and a decrease in the percentage who said they were going to be spending less. So that’s a good sign.”
Graeff says consumer confidence still has not returned to pre-recession levels, but the numbers are trending higher than at any point since 2007.
The MTSU consumer poll survey’s residents of Davidson, Williamson and Rutherford counties.