US consumer confidence sank to its lowest level since 2014 in September as households grew more pessimistic about prices and jobs. The Conference Board's index dropped to 81.9, missing forecasts, while a separate government report showed job openings fell in August even as layoffs eased.
The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index tumbled to 81.9 in September, a decline of 6.7 points, the board reported Tuesday. That reading is the lowest level in more than 12 years. It also came in well below economists' forecast of 89, according to the Dow Jones consensus. For the first time in the four-year history of the survey question, more respondents said their personal finances were bad than good.
Business conditions and labor views turn negative
Dana Peterson, the Conference Board's chief economist, said: "Consumer appraisals of current business conditions became negative for the first time since September 2024." She added that write-in responses about the economy were mostly pessimistic, with references to prices and fuel costs rising to new heights.
The board's Present Situation index fell 7.9 points to 109.3, while the Expectations Index slipped 5.9 points to 63.6. The share of respondents calling jobs "plentiful" over "hard to get" narrowed by 2.5 percentage points to 1.7%.
Respondents on average now expect inflation of 6.1%, up 0.3 percentage points from August, while the median expectation rose to 5.1%. Separately, the University of Michigan's consumer survey showed sentiment fell 7% in September to its second-lowest reading on record.
Job openings slip as hiring holds steady
In other data released Tuesday, job openings fell 256,000 in August to 7.08 million, below the 7.2 million economists had expected, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. July's figure was revised up to 7.335 million from 7.271 million.
Hiring rose 46,000 to 5.192 million, while layoffs dropped 61,000 to 1.641 million. Nonfarm payrolls, meanwhile, increased by 162,000 in August, the most in five months.
Labor market stability gives the Federal Reserve scope to focus on inflation. Markets now price a roughly 70.3% chance of another rate increase in October, according to CME's FedWatch tool, after the central bank raised its benchmark rate by 25 basis points to the 3.75%-4.00% range earlier this month.
Sources: CNBC, Investing.com, Investing.com
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