Bureau of Business and Economic Research, Index of Consumer Sentiment

The Montana Index of Consumer Sentiment provides a significant tool for forecasting and understanding the Montana economy. The index is made up of five components:

1. Consumers' assessment of their current financial situation
2. Consumers' anticipated financial situation in one year
3. Consumers' assessment of Montana's business conditions over the next twelve months
4. Consumers' estimate of Montana's business conditions over the next five years
5. Consumers' assessment of whether the next twelve months will be a good or bad time to by durable goods like cars, houses, and appliances

• Graphic of Montana Index of Consumer Sentiment (pdf)
• Data of Montana Index of Consumer Sentiment (pdf)
• Overall Graph of Montana Index of Consumer Sentiment (pdf)

The index uses the same questions as the University of Michigan's national Index of Consumer Sentiment, which is included in the U.S. Department of Commerce's Leading Indicator Composite Index. Each component of these identical indices is selected because of its: economic significance, statistical adequacy, consistency of timing at business cycle peaks and troughs, conformity to business cycle expansions and contractions smoothness, and prompt availability.

Because the Bureau first published the Montana Index of Consumer Sentiment in 1982, it was selected as the base year for the Index (1982 = 100). The long time series of the Montana Index of Consumer Sentiment makes it particularly useful not only for the business community but for academic research.