US Consumer Confidence Plunges Most In 3 Years As Labor Market Weakens Significantly

Thanks to a plunge in ‘Present Situation’, The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence index tumbled back near the lows of the last three years.

• Present situation confidence fell to 124.3 vs. 134.6 last month

• Consumer confidence expectations fell to 81.7 vs. 86.3 last month

Source: Bloomberg

That snapped the headline print down to 98.7 from 105.6 – the biggest MoM drop since Aug 2021…

Source: Bloomberg

That headline print was below the lowest estimate.

“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,” Dana Peterson, chief economist at the Conference Board, said in a statement.

The Present Situation languishing near COVID lockdown lows is perhaps explained by the fact that the overall trend in the labor market indicator remains weaker…

Source: Bloomberg

Of course, all this soft sirvey data was taken before The Fed slashed rates by 50bps last week.