Consumer sentiment fell to its lowest level since 2014 in September as an inflation-weary public took a bleak view of the labor market and the further impact it will have on finances, the Conference Board reported Tuesday.
The Board’s Consumer Confidence Index fell to 81.9, down 6.7 points and reading below the Dow Jones consensus forecast for 89.
Respondents expressed concern about inflation and job prospects. For the first time in the four-year history of the survey question, more respondents said their personal finances were bad than good.
“Consumers’ assessment of business conditions is now negative for the first time since September 2024,” said Dana Peterson, chief economist of the Conference Board.
“Consumer responses to factors affecting the economy are usually pessimistic in September,” he added. “Reference to prices, the high cost of goods and services, and oil and gas prices in particular, rose to a new high, reflecting the September increase in the cost of fuel.”
Other readings showed similar declines: The Board’s Current Situation Index fell 7.9 points to 109.3, while the Expectations Index, a six-month outlook window, fell 5.9 points to 63.6.
On the labor front, the gap between those who say work is “plenty” versus “hard to come by,” a closely watched barometer of the health of the labor market, fell again, falling 2.5 percentage points to just 1.7%.
The results came against expectations of rising inflation, driven by uncertainty over the Iran war, which has been reflected in financial markets by rising Treasury yields and mortgage rates.
Respondents on average expected an inflation rate of 6.1%, an increase of 0.3 percentage points from August. Median expectations also rose 0.3 points to 5.1%.
The Conference Board’s reading is consistent with the same survey. A University of Michigan consumer survey showed sentiment fell 7% in September to the second-lowest reading on record.
In other economic news Tuesday, job openings in August fell to 7.08 million, down 256,000 for the month amid sharp declines in professional and business services as well as health-related occupations, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. The Wall Street consensus was for 7.2 million openings.
Hires edged more for the month while quits were little changed and layoffs decreased slightly.