Consumer confidence in Florida dropped in the last month, but Floridians seem more optimistic than they were a year ago, according to a monthly University of Florida consumer survey released Tuesday.
The data rates consumers' confidence at 95.7, which is 3.5 points lower than in March. The lowest index possible is a 2, and the highest is 150.
Hector Sandoval of the Economic Analysis Program at UF's Bureau of Economic and Business Research said that while the numbers have shifted somewhat that the perceptions are relatively stable reflecting favorable economic conditions in the state.
Sandoval said the decline in the April numbers is due to "unfavorable expectations'' about the economy in the future. He noted, however, that those with incomes over $50,000 have favorable perceptions.