Consumer confidence slumps to lowest level since the US rolled out tariffs in April

A measure of Americans’ short-term expectations for their income, business conditions and the job market remained stable at 70.7, but still well below 80, the marker that can signal a recession ahead. It was the 11th consecutive month that reading has come in under 80.

Consumers’ assessments of their current economic situation tumbled 9.5 points to 116.8.

Write-in responses to the survey showed that prices and inflation remained consumers’ biggest concern, along with tariffs, despite repeated claims by President Trump that inflation is a hoax.

Perceptions of the job market also declined this month.

The conference board’s survey reported that 26.7% of consumers said jobs were “plentiful,” down from 28.2% in November. Also, 20.8% of consumers said jobs were “hard to get,” up from 20.1% last month.

Last week, the government reported that the U.S. economy gained a healthy 64,000 jobs in November but lost 105,000 in October. Notably, the unemployment rate rose to 4.6% last month, the highest since 2021.

The country’s labor market has been stuck in a “low hire, low fire” state, economists say, as businesses stand pat due to uncertainty over Trump’s tariffs and the lingering effects of elevated interest rates. Since March, job creation has fallen to an average 35,000 a month, compared to 71,000 in the year ended in March. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said recently that he suspects those numbers will be revised even lower.

Despite the broad pessimism, the proportion of those surveyed who think a recession in the next year is is unlikely grew.

The December survey showed that respondents’ views of their family’s current financial situation sank into negative territory for the first time in close to four years. On the flip side, expectations about their future financial situation were the most positive since January.

Also Tuesday, the government reported that the economy expanded at a 4.3% annual rate in the third quarter, though economists expect a much more sluggish fourth quarter due to the government shutdown and a potential pullback in consumer spending.