Americans are planning to spend less money on holiday shopping this year as confidence in the U.S. economy sinks to a new low. <\/p>\n
The new Gallup poll<\/a>, released Thursday, found that its Economic Confidence Index (ECI) fell seven points to -30 in November, which is the lowest since its -24 reading in July 2024. Gallup noted that when President Donald Trump<\/a> was sworn into office earlier this year, the index stood at -19.<\/p>\n Just 21% of Americans described economic conditions as \u201cexcellent\u201d or \u201cgood,\u201d a slight drop from the 24% who said the same in October. Another 40% rated the economic conditions as \u201cpoor,\u201d a 3-point jump from October. <\/p>\n The poll also showed Americans have low confidence in the labor market. Thirty-three percent of Americans in November said it was a good time to find a quality job, while 63% said it was a bad time. <\/p>\n The poll also found that holiday gift budgets shrunk by a record amount. <\/p>\n \u201cAlong with their heightened economic anxiety in November, consumers expressed much less of an appetite for holiday gift spending compared with earlier in the season,\u201d the Gallup analysis stated.<\/p>\n Americans in November said they expect to spend an average of $778 on Christmas and other holiday gifts\u2014a sharp $229 drop from October\u2019s $1,007 estimate. The new figure is also below Americans\u2019 estimates in November 2024, when they expected to spend an average of $1,012. <\/p>\n Gallup explained that while Americans tend to trim their budgets as the holiday season approaches, \u201cthis year\u2019s midseason decline is the largest Gallup has recorded, surpassing the $185 drop seen during the 2008 global financial crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n