Consumers feel a little better in Oct.

Utah’s consumer sentiment index score rose from 63.9 in September to 66.0 in October, according to results from the Kem C. Gardner Institute’s Survey of Utah Consumers released recently. Utahns scored near 100 on the index prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic early in 2020.

A similar survey by the University of Michigan found sentiment rose slightly from September (58.6) to October (59.9) among Americans as a whole.{mprestriction ids="1,3"}

“The Gardner Institute has now measured Utah consumer sentiment for 25 consecutive months,” said Phil Dean, Gardner Institute chief economist. “Increases in both the state and national indices suggest a slightly better consumer outlook heading into the holiday season.”

The Utah Consumer Sentiment Survey uses comparable questions to the University of Michigan’s Survey of Consumers, which polls the nation as a whole to arrive at its index number. Both surveys include a random sample of consumers, including demographic questions to assess the representativeness of the sample.

Utah’s survey of includes five questions concerning current and expected future economic conditions. These questions are identical to those included in the University of Michigan’s survey. Two of these questions refer to business or economic conditions in the country as a whole (rather than in one’s home state, for example). The Gardner survey supplements these two questions with alternative versions that refer to the state of Utah rather than the whole United States.{/mprestriction}