BREAKING: US Consumer Confidence dropped by the most in 3 years
BREAKING: US Consumer Confidence dropped by the most in 3 years
The Americans' assessment of current economic conditions is the lowest in 3.5 years whereas expectations near recessionary levels
US consumer confidence index fell to 98.7 points in September from 105.6 points recorded in August, experiencing the largest drop in 3 years. This metric missed all economists’ expectations and their average of 104.0 points.
The index is now sitting close to the bottom of the last 2 years range.
Meanwhile, the present situation index fell to the lowest in 3.5 years while the expectations index fell to 81.7 points, near the recessionary levels.
All 5 components of the main index weakened including current business conditions, the job market situation, and future income expectations.
Most importantly, US consumers' perception of the current economic conditions versus expectations fell by ~30 points over the last six months, the most since the COVID CRISIS.
In the past, such a rapid decline was consistent with a recession.
Overall deterioration has been driven by rising concerns about the job market as Americans have experienced fewer working hours and slower payroll raises while also noticing that job openings have significantly declined.
Namely, 30.9% of consumers said jobs were “plentiful,” down from 32.7% in August, and 18.3% of consumers said jobs were “hard to get,” up from 16.8%.
As a result, the difference between the two fell to 12.6% (orange line on the chart) implying that the unemployment rate could rise to as much as 6.0% in upcoming months.
To put it differently, Americans feel like the economy is already in a recession.
Below you can read what is really happening within the US economy.
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