US consumer confidence near 12-1/2-year low amid labor market fears

In September, US consumer confidence fell to a near 12-1/2-year low, according to the Conference Board survey. Households expect worsening business and labor market conditions over the next six months due to the Middle East conflict and rising interest rates. The war has driven up energy prices, contributing to inflation, and led the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates for the first time in three years.

The economy is stagnant for the average American household, with policy uncertainty hampering businesses and households' ability to plan for the future, according to Kyle Moore, chief economist at The Century Foundation. Consumer confidence dropped 6.7 points to 81.9, the lowest since April 2014, with no group immune to the decline.

The share of consumers who believed jobs were plentiful fell to 23.6%, the lowest since February 2021, while the proportion viewing jobs as hard to get rose to 21.9%, the highest since January 2021. Despite a surge in August job growth, hiring remains cautious, and job openings have decreased by 256,000 to 7.079 million. The ratio of job openings to unemployed persons fell to 1.01, down from 1.06 in July. Small businesses saw the majority of the decline in job openings.