Consumer confidence fell sharply in January to its lowest level since 2014, as Americans grew more pessimistic about both current economic conditions and the outlook ahead.
The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index fell 9.7 points to 84.5 in January from an upwardly revised 94.2 in December. Economists polled by Econoday had forecast a reading of 90.0.
The drop was driven by broad weakness in both assessments of current conditions and expectations. The Present Situation Index fell to 113.7 from 123.6, while the Expectations Index dropped to 65.1—well below the 80 level the Conference Board often associates with recession risk.
“Confidence collapsed in January, as consumer concerns about both the present situation and expectations for the future deepened,” said Dana M. Peterson, chief economist at the Conference Board, adding that all five components deteriorated.
Labor-market perceptions worsened notably. The share of consumers saying jobs were “plentiful” fell to 23.9 percent from 27.5 percent, while those saying jobs were “hard to get” rose to 20.8 percent from 19.1 percent, narrowing the so-called labor-market differential to 3.1 from 8.4. This is a metric closely watched by economists.
Fewer Americans expect their incomes to rise in coming months, with just 15.7 percent anticipating increases, down from 18.8 percent in December. Views on future business conditions and job availability also deteriorated sharply.
The decline was broad-based across age groups and income levels. Confidence among workers between ages 35 and 54 and those earning more than $50,000 a year fell to some of the lowest levels since 2013.
The Conference Board results contrasted with the University of Michigan’s January consumer sentiment survey, which showed sentiment improving to 56.4 from 52.9 in December, even as respondents still reported strains from high prices; interviews for the Michigan survey ended Jan. 19.
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