\u201cConsumers continue to note multiple vulnerabilities in the economy, with rising risks to business conditions, labor markets, and inflation,\u201d Joanne Hsu, director of the survey of consumers, said in a statement. \u201cLikewise, consumers perceive risks to their pocketbooks as well; current and expected personal finances both eased about 8% this month.\u201d<\/p>\n
Read more: What is consumer confidence, and why does it matter?<\/a><\/p>\n Year-ahead inflation expectations of prices rising by 4.8% were unchanged from August, with consumers continuing to express anxiety about tariffs. Hsu noted that 60% of respondents offered unprompted comments about the levies during interviews.<\/p>\n In a separate report on trade policy and consumer spending<\/a> released last month, Hsu also noted that the share of consumers expecting worse employment conditions in the year ahead was at \u201cabout 60%, a reading last seen in the Great Recession.\u201d<\/p>\n Preliminary data for this month showed that this trend continued, with about 65% of consumers expecting higher unemployment<\/a> in the next 12 months.<\/p>\n The consumer survey results follow a spate of dour economic data in the past several days, including revisions to jobs data that showed payrolls declined by 13,000 in June \u2014 the first net loss since December 2020.<\/p>\n Revisions to payroll data for the 12 months through March 2025, meanwhile, also showed the US employed 911,000 fewer people<\/a> than it had initially reported, and a New York Fed survey out Monday showed respondents\u2019 perceived probability of landing a job after losing their current position at a record low in data going back to June 2013.<\/a><\/p>\n Inflation data released Thursday<\/a> also showed that the Consumer Price Index increased by 2.9% on an annual basis in August.<\/p>\n Shoppers walk through a mall in King of Prussia, Penn., on April 3, 2025. REUTERS\/Rachel Wisniewski \u00b7 REUTERS \/ Reuters <\/p>\n