"The Conference Board said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index fell by 3.6 points to 94.2 in September, down from August's 97.8. That's a bigger drop than analysts were expecting and the lowest reading since April, when President Donald Trump rolled out his sweeping tariff policy. A measure of Americans' short-term expectations for their income, business conditions and the job market fell to 73.4, remaining well below 80, the marker that can signal a recession ahead."
"Government data released earlier this month showed that inflation rose in August as the price of gas, groceries, and airfares jumped. Consumer prices increased 2.9% last month from a year earlier, the Labor Department said, up from 2.7% the previous month and the biggest jump since January. Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, core prices rose 3.1%, the same as in July."
"While unemployment and layoffs remain historically low, there has been noticeable deterioration in the labor market this year and mounting evidence that people are having difficulty finding jobs. Earlier this month, the government reported that U.S. nonfarm employers added a paltry 22,000 jobs in August, following July's disappointing 79,000 job gains. Worse, revisions to the May and June figures shaved 258,000 jobs off previous estimates. The unemployment rate stands at 4.3%, the highest since October 2021."
Consumer confidence dropped to 94.2 in September, down 3.6 points from August and the lowest reading since April. Short-term expectations for income, business conditions and the job market fell to 73.4, well below the 80 recession-warning marker, while assessments of the current situation declined to 125.4. Write-in survey responses showed inflation regained prominence as the main concern, while mentions of tariffs eased but stayed elevated. Government data showed consumer prices rose 2.9% year-over-year in August, core prices rose 3.1%, and employment gains weakened alongside a rise in the unemployment rate to 4.3%.
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