Amidst rising unemployment, Florida’s consumer confidence index fell three percentage points to 69 in November.

“There are reasons for growing pessimism, particularly lingering employment issues that are expected to get worse over the next several months,” said Chris McCarty, survey director of
UF’s Bureau of Economic and Business Research.

He pointed to the state’s 11.2 percent unemployment rate, the highest in 34 years.

The index, which measures consumers’ perceptions of the economy and their finances today and over the long run, showed a sharp decline in expectations for the next five years.

“Florida consumers may be wondering whether the effects of this downturn will last longer than usual, or perhaps some aspects of this downturn are permanent,” McCarty said.

Floridians’ rising pessimism stands in contrast to the rest of the nation.

The Conference Board, a New York research organization, reported that its nationwide index of consumer confidence rose in November to 49.5 from 48.7

Lynn Franco, director of the Conference Board’s research center, said consumers nationwide seem to be thinking that things won’t get much worse.

But she cautioned, “Income expectations remain very pessimistic and consumers are entering the holiday season in a very frugal mood.”