Consumer Confidence falls again, hits lowest point since April

NEW YORK – It seems consumers aren’t feeling very positive about the current economic situation – and it’s led to yet another dip in overall consumer confidence.

According to the latest report from the Conference Board, the Consumer Confidence Index dropped 3.6 points in September to 94.2, down from 97.8 in August. Much of this dip is linked to the sharp deterioration of current conditions as the Present Situation Index fell a full 7.0 points to 125.4.

“Consumer confidence weakened in September, declining to the lowest level since April 2025,” said Stephanie Guichard, senior economist of global indicators at the Conference Board. “The present situation component registered its largest drop in a year. Consumers’ assessment of business conditions was much less positive than in recent months, while their appraisal of current job availability fell for the ninth straight month to reach a new multiyear low.”

Looking forward continues to be shaky as well. The Expectations Index dropped another 1.3 points to 73.4 – continuing the now 8-month streak of being below the 80-point mark that tends to signal a recession is ahead.

“Expectations also weakened in September, but to a lesser extent,” Guichard added. “Consumers were a bit more pessimistic about future job availability and future business conditions but optimism about future income increased, mitigating the overall decline in the Expectations Index.”

According to Guichard, write-in responses from consumers heavily focused on references to high prices and inflation. Mentions of tariffs slightly decreased but remain elevated as consumers link them to concerns about higher prices.

Here are a few other data points from this month’s report:

Present Situation

Consumers’ assessments of current business conditions deteriorated in September.

• 19.5 percent of consumers said business conditions were “good,” down from 21.8 percent in August.
• 15.4 percent said business conditions were “bad,” up from 14.6 percent.

Consumers’ views of the labor market cooled further in September.

• 26.9 percent of consumers said jobs were “plentiful,” down from 30.2 percent in August.
• 19.1 percent of consumers said jobs were “hard to get,” unchanged from last month.

Expectations Six Months Hence         

Consumers were a bit more pessimistic about future business conditions in September.

• 18.7 percent of consumers expected business conditions to improve, down from 20.2 percent in August.
• 22.3 percent expected business conditions to worsen, also down from 23.5 percent.

Consumers were more worried about the labor market outlook in September.

• 16.1 percent of consumers expected more jobs to be available, down from 17.9 percent in August.
• 25.6 percent anticipated fewer jobs, down slightly from 25.9 percent.

Consumers’ outlook for their income prospects was slightly more positive in September.

• 17.6 percent of consumers expected their incomes to increase, down from 18.8 percent in August.
• 11.7 percent expected their income to decrease, down from 13.3 percent.

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