Index of Consumer Attitudes: Autumn 2001 Update

The Index of Consumer Attitudes is produced four times a year from responses to four attitudinal questions posed to a random sample of Canadian households.

Document Highlights 

The Board’s initial survey, largely conducted before September 11, became a less accurate picture with the terrorist attacks, after which confidence fell by a modest 7.7 percentage points.

This survey, conducted between October 5 and 15, captures the full impact of the terrorist attacks on consumer attitudes toward the economy.

• Consumer confidence plunged by close to 17 percentage points in the Board’s most recent survey.
• Only 8 per cent of households indicated that there would be more jobs in their communities in six months.
• Despite the economic gloom, most households still believe that it is a good time to make a major purchase.