Topline<\/p>\n
Pessimism about the U.S. economy spread among more Americans in September than expected, according to survey results released Tuesday by the Conference Board think tank, the latest economic data showing consumers have heightened worries about a declining job market and rising prices. <\/p>\n
A reading on consumer confidence featured an uptick in pessimism about job availability and future business conditions.<\/p>\n
AFP via Getty ImagesKey Facts<\/p>\n
The Conference Board\u2019s confidence index\u2014a measurement of consumers\u2019 views on the economy\u2014dropped<\/a> to 94.2 in September from 97.8 in August, down from a 100-point baseline set in 1985, marking the lowest reading since April and below Wall Street\u2019s estimates of 96, according to FactSet.<\/p>\n More respondents indicated lowered expectations about the job market, according to the survey: About 26.9% of consumers said jobs were \u201cplentiful,\u201d the lowest level since February 2021, while roughly 19% said jobs were \u201chard to get.\u201d <\/p>\n Consumers\u2019 views of their current financial situation declined in the largest month-over-month drop since the data was first collected in July 2022, the Conference Board reported.<\/p>\n Fears about a recession remained strong as more consumers thought the U.S. economy was already in recession, and the Conference Board\u2019s expectation index\u2014a measurement of consumers\u2019 short-term outlook on the market\u2014fell to 73.4, still below the 80-point threshold that signals a recession.<\/p>\n Tangent<\/p>\n Available job openings rose more than expected to 7.23 million from a revised 7.21 million reading in July, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported<\/a> Tuesday. The hiring rate dropped to 3.2%, the lowest since June 2024, while the number of people who quit their jobs decreased by 75,000.<\/p>\n What To Watch For<\/p>\n The BLS will report jobs data for September on Friday, as economists widely believe the unemployment rate will hold firm at 4.3%, according to FactSet. The U.S. is expected to have added 50,000 nonfarm jobs through the month, up from August\u2019s dismal 22,000. It\u2019s not immediately clear whether the data will be released, however, as the federal government faces a looming shutdown. <\/p>\n Key Background<\/p>\n Confidence in the U.S. economy has steadily declined in recent months, while Americans express concerns about the effects of President Donald Trump\u2019s tariffs on prices and a weakening job market. Separate data released last week by the University of Michigan indicated consumer sentiment had fallen to its lowest level since May, as Americans \u201ccontinue to express frustration over the persistence of high prices.\u201d About 44% of respondents in that survey cited rising inflation and higher prices as \u201ceroding their personal finances,\u201d the highest reading in a year. Federal Reserve officials have in recent weeks pointed to a declining job market as the focus for expected cuts to interest rates. Fed Chair Jerome Powell suggested<\/a> the \u201cnear-term\u201d risks of inflation had cooled, while concerns had risen about the job market. Fed Governor Michelle Bowman signaled she was \u201cconcerned\u201d the labor market could enter a \u201cprecarious phase,\u201d adding a \u201cshock could tip it into a sudden and significant deterioration.\u201d<\/p>\n Further ReadingForbesAmerican Pessimism About U.S. Economy Grows\u2014Job Market, Inflation Worries DeepenBy Ty Roush<\/a>ForbesFed\u2019s Powell Cites Weakening Job Market For Interest Rate CutBy Ty Roush<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Topline Pessimism about the U.S. economy spread among more Americans in September than expected, according to survey results…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":463801,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3090],"tags":[51,155053,23704,49054,32,1700,138365,20463,1757,554,16,5664,15,3588],"class_list":{"0":"post-463800","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-economy","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-conference-board","10":"tag-consumer-confidence","11":"tag-consumer-sentiment","12":"tag-donald-trump","13":"tag-economy","14":"tag-jobs-market","15":"tag-jobs-report","16":"tag-trump","17":"tag-trump-tariffs","18":"tag-uk","19":"tag-unemployment","20":"tag-united-kingdom","21":"tag-us-economy"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115294816425248357","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/463800","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=463800"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/463800\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/463801"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=463800"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=463800"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=463800"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}