LI consumers more confident than upstate's

Consumer confidence in the metropolitan area edged up last month while it fell in the rest of New York State, according to a new poll.

The Siena College Research Institute Wednesday reported its confidence index for Long Island, New York City and its northern suburbs was 64.3 in September, a gain of 0.4 points from the prior month.

Statewide, the index dropped 0.1 points to 61.7.

In August, the index declined both statewide and in the metropolitan area.

New Yorkers remain very pessimistic about their financial well-being in the near term and the short term. Readings below 75 indicate the number of people worried about their future exceeds those who are optimistic.

"People are being bombarded with negative economic news," said Siena pollster Douglas Lonnstrom. "No demographic group even approaches being more optimistic than pessimistic."

Lonnstrom attributed the modest uptick in the outlook of local consumers to the region's economy generally being stronger than other parts of New York, particularly upstate cities such as Buffalo, Rochester and Syracuse. "I don't make much of it because the improvement isn't dramatic," he said.

One bright spot is that gasoline prices appear to be less of a burden for motorists because they've "stabilized" after soaring in the spring, Lonnstrom said. The number of metropolitan area residents saying pump prices are a very serious or somewhat serious problem declined for the third month in a row in September.

Residents across the state, when asked about big-ticket purchases in the next six months, were less likely to buy an automobile, computer, furniture or a home. However, more people said they planned to start a home improvement project.

On the Long Beach boardwalk Wednesday, retiree Elizabeth Murray, 63, said she was worried about the dearth of job opportunities for young people. "Where are they going to find work?" the former schoolteacher from Oceanside said. "Things are really bad . . . the stock market is scary."

PURCHASE PLANS

What state residents said they will buy in the next six months:

CAR OR TRUCK: 9.5% (down 0.3 percentage points from August 2011)

COMPUTER: 14.4% (down 0.4)

FURNITURE: 15.5% (down 2.1)

HOME: 3% (down 0.7)

MAJOR HOME IMPROVEMENT: 12.8% (up 0.2)

Note: Based on survey of 804 state residents, conducted in September 2011, with a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

SOURCE: Siena College Research Institute