Consumer confidence dips modestly in October with Americans concerned about the future

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WASHINGTON (AP) — Consumer confidence weakened slightly in October as Americans remain anxious about their future financial prospects.

The Conference Board said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index fell by 1 point to 94.6 in October from an upwardly revised September reading of 95.6. Economists were expecting the reading to come in unchanged from the previous month. One year ago, the reading was 109.5.

A measure of Americans’ short-term expectations for their income, business conditions and the job market dipped by 2.9 points to 71.5, remaining well below 80, the marker that can signal a recession ahead.

However, consumers’ assessments of their current economic situation rose 1.8 points to 129.3.

Write-in responses to the survey showed that prices and inflation remained consumers’ biggest concern. Mentions of tariffs declined again this month but remain elevated, the Conference Board said.

Last week, government data showed that inflation in the U.S. remained elevated in September as gas prices jumped while the cost of rents cooled, painting a mixed picture for consumers. While the economy is still growing steadily, hiring remains slow and more high-profile companies have recently announced layoffs.

Consumer prices increased 3% in September from a year earlier, the Labor Department said Friday, the highest since January and up from 2.9% in August.

The report on the consumer price index was issued more than a week late because of the Oct. 1 government shutdown.

Federal Reserve officials have signaled that they will cut their key interest rate at their meeting Wednesday. It would be the second time this year even though inflation is above the central bank’s 2% target. Fed officials have cited increasing concerns about the U.S. labor market, which, while broadly healthy by historical standards, is showing signs of deterioration this year.

Responses to the Conference Board’s latest survey revealed that while respondents were slightly more positive about current job market, they are growing more concerned about their future employment prospects.

The most recent government jobs report showed that U.S. nonfarm employers added a paltry 22,000 jobs in August, following July’s disappointing 79,000 job gains. Worse, revisions to the May and June figures shaved 258,000 jobs off previous estimates. The unemployment rate stands at 4.3%, the highest since October 2021.

The government did not issue its September jobs report due to the shutdown.

In addition to the lingering effects of 11 interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve in 2022 and 2023, economists say the recent hiring slump may also be a result of Trump’s policies, including his sweeping and ever-changing tariffs on imports, a crackdown on illegal immigration and purges of the federal workforce.

Many companies have been locked in a “no hire, no fire” position, fearful of expanding payrolls until the effects of Trump’s tariffs are more clear. But in the past two weeks, there have been notable exceptions from major U.S. corporations.

On Tuesday, Amazon said it will cut about 14,000 corporate jobs as the online retail giant ramps up spending on artificial intelligence while trimming costs elsewhere. Last week, Target said it would eliminate about 1,800 corporate positions.

Also last week, Meta Platforms said it was cutting roughly 600 positions and in September, Starbucks announced plans to close hundreds of stores while laying off 900 nonretail employees.

Survey respondents who said they intended to buy a new or used car in the near future rose.

While the share of those saying they planned to purchase a home declined slightly this month, the broader six-month trend is still rising, the Conference Board said.

Plans to buy big-ticket items like appliances was little changed from September.