Consumer confidence slid for the third month in a row, new data shows, a sign that Americans’ view of the economy is dimming in the face of a weakening labor market and stubborn inflation.
The University of Michigan’s October sentiment index, released Friday, shows consumer sentiment decreased by 1.5% on a monthly basis to 53.6%. The index has recovered slightly after dipping to a three-year low in April, but still remains below its January 2025 level over deepening concerns about vulnerabilities in the U.S. economy — with the impact being felt differently across income groups, experts note.
“The lower to median end of the income spectrum are increasingly concerned about job prospects and income prospects, and that is weighing on their morale at a time where prices are rising,” EY-Parthenon Chief Economist Greg Daco told CBS News prior to the index’s release. “So it’s really an affordability issue.”
The closely watched consumer sentiment index gauges Americans’ outlook on the job market, wages, inflation, business conditions and personal finances on a monthly basis.
“It’s the only piece of data that we get in the absence of how consumers are spending,” EY-Parthenon Chief Economist Greg Daco told CBS News.
Inflation expectations crept in October, an indicator that Americans are still feeling the strain of high prices. According to Joanne Hsu, director of the Surveys of Consumers at University of Michigan, the increase in long-run inflation expectations from 3.7% last month to 3.9% this month was driven primarily by independents and Republicans.
“Inflation and high prices remain at the forefront of consumers’ minds,” she said in a statement.
The government shutdown appears to have had little impact on consumers’ economic outlooks. Only about 2% spontaneously referenced the shutdown during the University of Michigan’s interviews in October, compared with the 10% of consumers in January 2019, when the government shut down for a 35-day stretch, Hsu said.
The snapshot of consumer sentiment comes after the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the Consumer Price Index (CPI) — the first piece of federal economic data Wall Street has received since the lapse in government funding began on Oct. 1.
The latest CPI data shows that climbed at annual rate of 3% in September, below economists’ expectations but still above the Federal Reserve’s annual 2% target. The inflation reading will be a crucial factor in the Fed’s federal fund rate decision next week.
Edited by
Alain Sherter and
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