Consumer confidence continues to weaken

A jobless summer, a government shutdown, and just the whole (gestures vaguely) of 2025 are weighing on consumers this fall.

The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index dropped 3.6 points in September compared to August, falling to 94.2, its lowest level since April 2025.

The most dramatic consumer confidence drop in the Conference Board’s research was in the present situation index, a measure of consumer sentiment around business and jobs, which fell by 7 points.That’s the largest drop in a year. Only 19.5% of consumers rated current business conditions positively, a decline from 21.8% in August. And those who rated business conditions as “bad” edged up 0.8 percentage points.

The survey also found that consumers were putting off some big-ticket purchases like cars, refrigerators, and vacations, while purchasing plans for homes, TVs, and smartphones jumped.

“Consumers’ assessment of business conditions was much less positive than in recent months,” Stephanie Guichard, senior economist at the Conference Board, said in a Sept. 30 release. “While their appraisal of current job availability fell for the ninth straight month to reach a new multiyear low.”

August data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that job openings remained unchanged from July at 7.3 million but are down 5.5% from a year ago, according to CNBC.

Hope springs something. While consumers have expressed concerns about future job availability, they remained optimistic about potential income increases. Only 11.7% of consumers thought their incomes would decrease, compared to 13.3% last month, but fewer consumers (17.6%) thought their incomes would increase, compared to last month’s 18.8%.

According to the release, confidence in economic conditions for consumers under 35 increased, while it decreased for those over 35. Both Republicans and Democrats had slightly improved outlooks, while Independents experienced significant declines in confidence.

However, the Conference Board’s expectations index, which measures short term consumer outlook, found that “expectations have been below the threshold of 80 that typically signals a recession ahead since February 2025,” and this month was no different.