Adopted 2017 Annual Operating & Capital Improvement Budget

ECONOMIC INDICATORS
Consumer Confidence Index (CCI)
The Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) was established in 1967 to measure the degree of optimism that consumers
have with regard to the economy. Each monthly survey contains approximately 50 core questions, each of which tracks
a different aspect of consumer attitudes and expectations. Consumer confidence in the United States averaged 85.9
from 1952 until 2016, while a reading of 90.0 is associated with a healthy economic outlook. As of July, the CCI reported
an index measure of 90, below that reported during the previous year (93.1). Furthermore, the chart below illustrates
consumer sentiment has wavered during the past twelve months and recently shows that consumers are less optimistic.
United States Consumer Sentiment
96.0
94.0
92.0
90.0
88.0
86.0
84.0
82.0
Aug
2015
Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan
2016
Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul
Retail Sales Year-Over-Year
The year-over-year change in retail sales compares the aggregated sales of retail goods and services during a certain
month to the same month a year ago. Retail sales in the United States averaged 4.37% from 1993 until 2016, reaching
an all-time high of 11.2% in March of 1994 and a record low of -11.5% in December of 2008. Retail sales increased
2.7% in June of 2016 over the same month in the previous year. As evident in the following chart, increases in retail
sales have been sporadic over the previous twelve-month period, suggesting uncertainty within the consumer retail
market.
United States Retail Sales Year-Over-Year
4.0
3.5
3.0
2.5
2.0
1.5
1.0
0.5
-
Jul
2015
Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan
2016
Feb Mar Apr May Jun
14