Americans’ ratings of their personal finances extended a monthlong recovery and assessments of the national economy reached a five-week high this week, aiding a comeback in consumer sentiment even in the face of the Delta surge – but with unusual volatility indicating substantial uncertainty.

This week’s Consumer Comfort Index follows a better-than-expected jobs report, with the economy gaining 943,000 jobs in July and unemployment easing to a pandemic low of 5.4 percent. Employment is a strong correlate of consumer attitudes; so is the stock market, which hit record highs earlier this week. Inflation, though – up 5.4 percent in July, year-on-year – is a substantial concern.

At 54.6 on its 0-100 scale, the CCI is up 3.1 points in three weeks, partially back from a 5.4-point loss mid-June to mid-July – its biggest four-week drop since early in the pandemic. It’s just off its pandemic peak seven weeks ago, 56.9, while still 8.4 points short of its pre-pandemic level in March 2020.

Still, the index is showing marked volatility, indicating uncertain conditions. Americans’ ratings of their own finances are up 5.9 points in four weeks – and 1.5 points this week alone – after a 6.0-point loss the three weeks previous. National economy ratings have swung even more rapidly, up 2.7 points this week in a sharp pivot from a 2.1-point loss last week.

Assessments of the buying climate, for their part, are steady for a fifth consecutive week, holding within a narrow 1.3-point band since early July.

By historical standards, the public’s ratings of their personal finances are strong, while national economy and buying climate ratings lag:

• At 69.3, the personal finances subindex nearly matches its 16-month high in mid-June its pre-pandemic level. It’s within sight of its record high in 35 years of ongoing weekly data, 71.2 in January 2020.
• The national economy subindex, at 49.3, is just 1.8 points short of its pandemic peak in mid-June but a distant 17.8 points from its level before the onset of the pandemic.
• At 45.3, the buying climate subindex is 5.4 points short of its pandemic high seven weeks ago and 8.0 points off its level before nationwide business closures first went into effect last spring.