The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index fell in September, to 98.7, from an upwardly revised 105.6 in August. The Present Situation Index fell 10.3 points to 124.3. The Expectations Index, based on consumers’ short-term outlook for income, business, and labor market conditions, declined 4.6 points to 81.7 but remained above 80. (A reading below the threshold of 80 usually signals a recession ahead.) The cutoff date for the preliminary results was Sept. 17, 2024.
“Consumer confidence dropped in September to near the bottom of the narrow range that has prevailed over the past two years,” said Dana M. Peterson, chief economist at the Conference Board. “September’s decline was the largest since August 2021, and all five components of the index deteriorated.
Peterson added, “The deterioration across the index’s main components likely reflected consumers’ concerns about the labor market and reactions to fewer hours, slower payroll increases, fewer job openings—even if the labor market remains quite healthy, with low unemployment, few layoffs, and elevated wages. The proportion of consumers anticipating a recession over the next 12 months remained low, but there was a slight uptick in the percentage of consumers believing the economy was already in recession.”
Source: PR Newswire
