Buoyed by falling gas prices and a strong labor market, consumer sentiment jumped "unexpectedly" in early April to hit a three-month high, according to the University of Michigan's sentiment index.
Due to continued inflation, economists had expected the sentiment index to continue its downward trend to 59 after a final reading of 59.4 in March. Instead the index rose to 65.7 in early April, a reversal that marked the measure's first improvement since December.
The 10.6% bump in sentiment was primarily fueled by improved consumer expectations.
"A strong labor market bolstered wage expectations among consumers under age 45 to 5.3%—the largest expected gain in more than three decades, since April 1990," wrote Richard Curtin, chief economist for the Surveys of Consumers.
Consumers also expect the national unemployment rate will continue to "inch downward," which has boosted their perception of the overall economy.
Another positive sign: Consumers are also starting to feel more optimistic that the surge in gas prices is slowing, a reaction to falling fuel prices that was "immediately recognized" at the pump.
"Perhaps the most surprising change was that consumers anticipated a year-ahead increase in gas prices of just 0.4 cents in April, completely reversing March's surge to 49.6 cents," Curtin writes. "Retail gas prices have fallen since the March peak, and that fact was immediately recognized by consumers."
COVID and Putin's war on Ukraine continue to dog the economic outlook, but Democrats need to shore up this positivity among consumers.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court on Friday adopted Republican-drawn maps for the state Legislature, handing the GOP a victory just weeks after initially approving maps drawn by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers.
The court reversed itself after the U.S. Supreme Court in March said Evers’ maps were incorrectly adopted, and came just as candidates were about to begin circulating nominating papers to appear on this year’s ballot without being sure of district boundaries.
Democrats would have made some marginal gains under Evers’ plan, but Republicans were projected to maintain their majorities in the Assembly and Senate, according to an analysis from the governor’s office.
Evers’ map created seven majority-Black state Assembly districts in Milwaukee, up from the current six. The map from the Republican-controlled Legislature had just five.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court had adopted Evers’ map on March 3, but the U.S. Supreme Court overturned it on March 23. The high court ruled that Evers’ map failed to consider whether a “race-neutral alternative that did not add a seventh majority-black district would deny black voters equal political opportunity.”
Evers told the state Supreme Court it could still adopt his map with some additional analysis, or an alternative with six majority-Black districts. The Republican-controlled Legislature argued that its map should be implemented.
The Wisconsin court, controlled 4-3 by conservatives, sided with the Legislature.
Election Rigging 101.
The ugly:
MAGA Family Values pic.twitter.com/NVIT97iwot
— Ron Filipkowski 🇺🇦 (@RonFilipkowski) April 14, 2022
Extra points for tacky: teaching your young kids to flip the bird.
