Consumer Confidence Drops in September

Consumer confidence fell to the lowest level in five months as consumers remained concerned about increasing inflation and a weak labor market. 

The Consumer Confidence Index, reported by the Conference Board, measures how optimistic or pessimistic consumers feel about their financial situation. The index fell from 97.8 to 94.2 in September, the lowest level since April. 

“Consumer confidence weakened in September, declining to the lowest level since April 2025,” says Stephanie Guichard, senior economist, Global Indicators at The Conference Board. “The present situation component registered its largest drop in a year. Consumers’ assessment of business conditions was much less positive than in recent months, while their appraisal of current job availability fell for the ninth straight month to reach a new multiyear low. This is consistent with the decline in job openings. Expectations also weakened in September, but to a lesser extent. Consumers were a bit more pessimistic about future job availability and future business conditions but optimism about future income increased, mitigating the overall decline in the Expectations Index.”

Consumers’ assessment of current business conditions decreased in September, with respondents rating business conditions as good, decreasing by 2.3 percentage points to 19.5%. Those claiming business conditions as bad rose by 0.8 percentage points to 15.4%.