Consumer Confidence sinks in September
There's no doubt that economic anxiety is sky-high right now.
That pessimism is reflected in the latest iteration of The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index, which slumped to 98.7—down from 105.6 in August. The current figure is also down from September 2023's 103.0.
Why all the negativity?
Dana M. Peterson, chief economist at The Conference Board, sums it up:
“September’s decline was the largest since August 2021, and all five components of the Index deteriorated. Consumers’ assessments of current business conditions turned negative while views of the current labor market situation softened further. Consumers were also more pessimistic about future labor market conditions and less positive about future business conditions and future income."
According to the data, consumers in the age bracket of 35 to 54 shared the biggest drop in overall confidence. Consumers under 35, meanwhile, expressed the most confidence in overall economic picture moving ahead.
Peterson explains what's fueling consumers' key worries:
“The deterioration across the Index’s main components likely reflected consumers' concerns about the labor market and reactions to fewer hours, slower payroll increases, fewer job openings—even if the labor market remains quite healthy, with low unemployment, few layoffs and elevated wages. The proportion of consumers anticipating a recession over the next 12 months remained low but there was a slight uptick in the percentage of consumers believing the economy was already in recession.”
Despite the largely morose mood, purchasing expectations may be picking up—at least for certain big-ticket items. The report says: "On a six-month moving average basis, purchasing plans for homes and new cars improved slightly. When asked about plans to buy more goods or services over the next six months, consumers showed a slightly greater preference for purchasing goods."
Other key takeaways from the report include:
- More than 18 percent of consumers said business conditions were “good,” down from 21.1 percent in August.
- Meanwhile, over 20 percent said business conditions were “bad,” up from 17.3 percent in August.
- Nearly 31 percent of consumers said jobs were “plentiful,” down from 32.7 percent in August.
- Just over 18 percent of consumers said jobs were “hard to get,” up from 16.8 percent.
- More than 18 percent of consumers expect business conditions to improve, down from 19 percent in August.
- Roughly 16 percent expect business conditions to worsen, up from 14.5 in August.
- Eighteen percent of consumers expect their incomes to increase, down from 18.6 percent in August.
- Thirteen percent expect their incomes to decrease, up from 11.7 percent in August.
