WASHINGTON, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- U.S. consumers plan to spend more during the holidays this year than during the depths of the recession a year ago, but their spending is still expected to be more restrained than in prior years, said an influential survey released Monday.

    According to the tenth annual holiday spending survey conducted by the Consumer Federation of America (CFA) and the Credit Union National Association (CUNA), 43 percent of U.S. consumers said they intend to cut back their holiday spending this year, compared to 55 percent last year.

    But the 43 percent figure is still much higher than in the previous eight years of 2000 to 2007, a period when the percentage intending to spend less never exceeded 35 percent and dipped as low as 21 percent (in 2002).

    "Consumers are telling us they will not cut back as much on spending as last year, but more so than in previous years," said CUNA Chief Economist Bill Hampel. "Moreover, only 8 percent said they planned to spend more than last year, and this was the lowest percentage we have seen in the past 10 years."

    A key reason for this intended spending restraint is how consumers assess their financial situation compared to last year.

    Far more consumers said their situation was worse (36 percent) than better (19 percent), though nearly half (44 percent) said their situation was about the same.

    Concern about the economy again topped the list of reasons this year (35.6 percent) as it did last year (36.1 percent), with more this year saying that unemployment or the prospect of reduced job hours or pay were at the heart of those concerns.

    "Many Americans say they remain concerned about their financial condition," said Steven Brobeck, executive director of the Consumer Federation of America. "But it is good news that fewer people are concerned about meeting monthly debt payments this year than last."

    Only 24 percent said they were concerned about meeting monthly credit card payments this year, compared to 28 percent last year. And only 42 percent said they were concerned about meeting all debt payments this year, compared to 48 percent last year."

    The CFA-CUNA survey was conducted November 6 - 9 among more than 1,000 representative adult Americans by Opinion Research Corporation. The survey's margin of error is plus or minus three percentage points.

    Holidays spending is considered as a leading indicator of the economy. Analysts say that the anticipated increasing consumers spending in this holiday season shows that people have gained some confidence toward the future.

    Consumer spending, which accounts about 70 percent of the overall U.S. economy, is the key drive of the economy.

    However, consumer spending is still under the pressure of high unemployment rate.

    The October unemployment rate jumped to a 10.2 percent, or 26 year high, and the White House has warned that it could get a little worse before it starts getting better.

    Many economists expected that the unemployment rate will not return to below 9 percent in 2010. They said that creating jobs has become the biggest test for the Obama administration.

    Meanwhile, a separate survey shows U.S. consumers are holding tight to their wallets and average household spending this holiday season is expected to drop seven percent from last year, a latest survey shows.

    New York based Conference Board, a private research group, reported Monday that its survey of Christmas gift spending found U.S. families plan to spend an average of 390 U.S. dollars this year, down from last year's 418 dollars.

    "Consumers are approaching the holiday season very cautiously," says Lynn Franco, director of the Conference Board Consumer Research Center. "Job losses and uncertainty about the future are making for a very frugal shopper."