UK consumer morale slips in August - Thomson Reuters/Ipsos survey

LONDON, Aug 11 (Reuters) - British consumer morale edged lower again this month after dropping sharply following Britain's vote to leave the European Union, according to a survey that showed Britons became more worried about their jobs but more optimistic about the economy.

Thursday's Thomson Reuters (Dusseldorf: TOC.DU - news) /Ipsos Primary Consumer Sentiment Index (PCSI) eased to 49.2 from 49.4 in July, around levels last seen in early 2014.

Business surveys since June's referendum show a plunge in corporate activity, but the Thomson Reuters/Ipsos (LSE: 0KA3.L - news) poll of 1,000 Britons added to a fairly mixed picture for consumer spending - a key pillar of British economic growth.

"Consumer confidence decreased slightly in the month to August, but it shows little sign of a significant, sustained 'Brexit effect' as yet," said Bobby Duffy, managing director of consumer affairs at pollster Ipsos MORI.

Major retailers including Tesco (Xetra: 852647 - news) , Next (Other OTC: NXGH - news) and John Lewis say they have not been affected so far by the referendum result, while the British Retail Consortium said spending in shops bounced in July.

But the long-running GfK (Swiss: GFK.SW - news) survey - Britain's main consumer morale gauge and generally a decent indicator of future household spending over the years - suffered its sharpest drop since 1990 last month.

The Thomson Reuters/Ipsos gauge of economic expectations rebounded in Thursday's report, although that was outweighed by declines in employment confidence and the outlook for investment.

* For details of Thomson Reuters/Ipsos Primary Consumer Sentiment Indexes from 24 countries, see: http://emea1.apps.cp.extranet.thomsonreuters.biz/Apps/ContentKiosk?id=1100 (Reporting by Andy Bruce, editing by Larry King)