• Brand Week, Tuesday, June 16, 2009 12:15 PM

A new survey from Boston-based L.E.K. Consulting reveals that despite optimism expressed by many economists and media heads about the economy, U.S. consumers are actually more pessimistic currently than they were when a similar survey was conducted in October 2008. Among 3,000 consumers surveyed, about 75-80% said they were concerned about either losing their job or someone in their immediate family losing a job; about 50% think the economy won't improve for at least two years; while about 60% said they plan to spend less over the next six months.

Consumers, meanwhile, estimated that their overall decline in spending was 8.8% vs. a year ago -- about twice as much as they reported last October. The study also found that consumer spending has decreased across all categories over the past 12 months, including such staples as groceries, which were stable in the October survey. Views toward personal finances have also become more negative.

While the recent jump in household savings rates to 4.2 percent has been widely reported as an indicator of recovery, it's still well below the 7 percent average over the past 60 years. In fact, one-fifth of the consumers surveyed said they plan to save "a lot more" than they have historically after the end of a recession.

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