Consumer confidence fell in September as Americans grew increasingly concerned about the job market.
The Conference Board’s latest index was 98.7, below the 105.6 recorded in August and below what the 104 economists surveyed by Bloomberg had expected. The drop in consumer confidence from August to September was the largest month-over-month decline since August 2021, according to The Conference Board.
“Consumers’ assessments of current business conditions turned negative, while views of the current state of the labor market softened further,” Conference Board chief economist Dana Peterson said in the statement. “Consumers also became more pessimistic about future labor market conditions and less positive about future business conditions and future earnings.”
The cut-off date for the data was Sept. 17, meaning respondents answered the survey before the Federal Reserve announced it would cut its benchmark interest rate by half a percentage point on Sept. 18. But there had been several signs of weakening in the labor market before consumers responded.
Unemployment has risen steadily throughout 2024 and stands at 4.2%, just below its highest level in almost three years. Meanwhile, job vacancies in August were at their lowest level since January 2021.
In the September consumer confidence survey, 18.3% of consumers said it was “hard to get a job,” up from 16.8%.
Peterson added: “The deterioration in the major components of the index likely reflected consumer concerns about the labor market and reactions to shorter hours, slower payroll increases, and fewer job openings, even as the labor market remains fairly healthy, with low unemployment, few layoffs, and high wages. The share of consumers anticipating a recession in the next 12 months remained low, but there was a slight uptick in the share of consumers who believe the economy is already in a recession.”