Consumer Confidence from The Conference Board was released today, showing increasing signs of weakness. The Present Situation Index fell to its lowest level in more than 5 years as consumers continue to be weighed down by high prices and concerns about further inflation.
The sustained decline can also be attributed to increasingly pessimistic views of business and employment conditions. The percentage of respondents who said jobs were plentiful fell to 24.6% – its lowest level since early 2021.
The Consumer Confidence Survey largely features questions that are focused on consumers’ assessments of the broader economy. Because of this, significant downturns in these indicators typically coincide with economic contractions, and the persistent downward trends today continue to warn that trouble could lie ahead.