U.S. consumer confidence continued to deteriorate in November as households increasingly worried about job security, inflation and the broader economic outlook, according to new data from the Conference Board. The Consumer Confidence Index fell to 88.7, its lowest reading since April, marking a 6.8-point decline and underscoring growing pessimism across income and political groups. The results add pressure on Federal Reserve officials who have already signaled that further interest-rate reductions may be needed as economic sentiment weakens.
The expectations index, which tracks consumers' outlook for income, employment and business conditions over the next six months, dropped sharply to 63.2, well below the threshold of 80 that the board says historically signals a recession ahead. "Consumer confidence tumbled in November to its second lowest level since April after moving sideways for several months," said Dana Peterson, chief economist at The Conference Board. She added that "mid-2026 expectations for labor market conditions remained decidedly negative, and expectations for increased household incomes shrunk dramatically, after six months of strongly positive readings."
Households expressed declining confidence in labor availability. The share of respondents saying jobs are "plentiful" fell to 6%, down steeply from 28.6% in October. Meanwhile, those reporting jobs were "hard to get" slipped slightly to 17.9%, suggesting stagnation in a labor market increasingly described by economists as "no-hire, no-fire." The concerns were echoed in new figures from payrolls processor ADP indicating that private employers shed an average of 13,500 jobs over the past four weeks.
Consumers also registered weaker views of current business conditions. Only 1% of respondents said conditions were "good," down from 20.7% in October, the Conference Board reported. Inflation expectations rose, with households projecting a 4.8% rate a year from now-more than double the Federal Reserve's 2% target. The reading also edged above the University of Michigan's survey outlook of 4.5%.
Survey participants cited familiar pressures. "Consumers' write-in responses pertaining to factors affecting the economy continued to be led by references to prices and inflation, tariffs and trade, and politics, with increased mentions of the federal government shutdown," Peterson said. The shutdown had delayed several federal economic releases, leaving policymakers to assess conditions using partial and outdated information.
The weakening of sentiment arrives despite overall low unemployment by historical standards. However, the jobless rate reached its highest point since October 2021 earlier this fall, and several companies across technology, telecom and finance have announced new rounds of layoffs heading into year-end. Evidence suggests that household spending remains resilient but increasingly driven by higher-income consumers.
Parallel data from the University of Michigan confirmed the broader deterioration in sentiment. Its consumer sentiment index fell 4.9% for the month and was down 29% from a year earlier. In that survey, 69% of consumers expected unemployment to rise over the next year, reinforcing concerns that the labor market may be losing momentum.
The Federal Reserve is widely expected to respond with an additional quarter-point rate cut in December, with traders pricing in a high probability of further easing to counteract the erosion in household confidence. While assessments of personal financial situations dropped to their lowest level since August 2024, respondents simultaneously showed "strongly positive" expectations for stock market performance in the year ahead, reflecting uncertainty and divergence in how Americans view the path forward for the U.S. economy.
