California survey says consumer confidence down

By Jason Bennert, Bay City News Service

April 5, 2007

SAN JOSE (BCN) - A new survey released today by a San Jose State University research institute found that consumer confidence is down in both Silicon Valley and statewide.

According to the Survey and Policy Research Institute at San Jose State University, while Californians who feel better about their personal financial situation outnumber those that do not, the state's residents have growing concerns about the national economy.

"On a personal level, Californians say they are doing a little better than they were a year ago, and they expect to do a little better in the coming year,'' SJSU political science professor and survey director Melinda Jackson said. "But when it comes to the national economy, it's a different story. With the collapse of the sub-prime mortgage market, and the continuing war in Iraq, people are more worried about economic conditions in the country as a whole than they were at the beginning of the year.''

Only 29 percent of state residents believe business conditions in the country are better now than they were a year ago, a drop of seven percentage points since January. And the percentage of Californians who expect to see a period of widespread unemployment or depression in the next five years increased to 31 percent, from 25 percent, since January, according to the survey.

Silicon Valley residents have a more optimistic view of the economy; 60 percent of the region's residents believe business conditions are better that a year ago. Slightly fewer Silicon Valley residents, 30 percent, expect a period of economic depression in the next five years, according to the survey.

"People in Silicon Valley are more positive about their future expectations,'' Jackson said.

The survey defines Silicon Valley as all of Santa Clara County and the adjacent zip codes of Alameda and San Mateo counties as well as one Santa Cruz County zip code covering the Scotts Valley area, Jackson said.

The telephone survey was conducted between March 26 and 30. The margin of error is plus or minus 3.4 percent. The plus or minus for Silicon Valley is 5.6 percent.

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