U.S. consumer confidence drops to lowest level since 2014

Consumer confidence slid to its lowest level since 2014 on Tuesday, as the Conference Board reported a 6.7‑point drop to 81.9 in September. The reading fell well short of the Dow Jones consensus forecast of 89. For the first time in the survey’s four‑year history, more respondents said their personal finances were “bad” rather than “good.” The decline was driven by worries about inflation and the job market, and it marked the steepest fall in the index in more than a decade.

The dip comes as price pressures have intensified across the board. Respondents cited higher costs for goods, services, oil and gas, with fuel prices surging in September. Inflation expectations rose to 6.1 percent on average, up 0.3 point from August, while the median forecast increased to 5.1 percent. Dana Peterson, chief economist at the Conference Board, noted that consumer appraisals of current business conditions turned negative for the first time since September 2024. The labor‑market barometer also slipped, with the gap between those who see jobs as “plentiful” versus “hard to get” narrowing to just 1.7 percentage points, down 2.5 points from the previous month. A parallel University of Michigan survey showed sentiment falling 7 percent to its second‑lowest reading on record.

Other indicators painted a similarly bleak picture. The board’s Present Situation Index dropped 7.9 points to 109.3, and the six‑month Expectations Index fell 5.9 points to 63.6. Meanwhile, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that job openings in August slipped to 7.08 million, a decline of 256,000 and below the Wall Street consensus of 7.2 million. Hires edged higher, quits were flat, and layoffs fell slightly. Together, the data suggest consumers are tightening spending as they brace for higher costs and a softer labor market, a trend that could dampen economic growth in the months ahead.