In order for the economy to be considered good, the reading is going to have to move much higher, as any reading over 90 signals the economy is stable, and a reading above 100 would indicate strong growth.

We can take comfort in the fact that the consumer confidence reading since it hit its low of 25.3 back in February, but there is still a long way to go before things turn positive.

Paul Dales, an economist at Capital Economics Ltd., stated that the recent rally in the stock market is not helping boost consumer confidence as some would expect. He noted that rising unemployment and falling wages are continuing to control the current environment.

Even for Americans that have not found themselves out of a job, salary freezes, and in some cases wage cuts are a harsh reality of life these days. A lot of companies have made it clear that their employees should not expect annual raises, while other companies are encouraging employees to take unpaid vacation or even cut back to 4 day weeks in order to keep their jobs.

We continue to get mixed signals on the economy, but what is apparent is that even if the economy is recovering, any improvements will be slow, and tough for many families to handle.

Unless something changes fast, it could be a very lack luster holiday season for retailers that are already being hurt by reduced consumer spending.

What are your views on the economy? Do you believe that things are improving, or do you continue to have concerns over the current economic environment?