The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index fell 1.4 points to 90.8 in July, the third consecutive month consumers grew less upbeat about current conditions, the organization said Tuesday.
The Conference Board's Present Situation Index fell for a third consecutive month as views of business and labor conditions softened
Spencer Platt / Getty Images
The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index fell 1.4 points to 90.8 in July, the third consecutive month consumers grew less upbeat about current conditions, the organization said Tuesday.
The Present Situation Index, which tracks consumers' assessments of current business and labor market conditions, dropped 3.6 points to 114.9 — its third straight monthly decline. The Expectations Index, which reflects consumers' six-month outlook for income, business, and labor conditions, held steady at 74.7, remaining in negative territory.
"Consumer confidence moderated slightly in July, continuing a general downward sloping trajectory since late 2021," Dana M. Peterson, chief economist at The Conference Board, said in a statement. "Consumer appraisals of current business conditions and, to a lesser extent, perceptions of the current labor market both softened."
Views of business conditions weakened noticeably. The share of consumers describing conditions as "good" fell to 18.9% from 20.2% in June, while those calling conditions "bad" rose to 17.8% from 16.5%. Net views of business conditions stood at just +1.1%, barely positive.
Labor market perceptions also softened. The share of respondents saying jobs were "plentiful" slipped to 24.6% from 25.5% in June, narrowing the labor market differential — the gap between those describing jobs as plentiful and those calling them hard to find — to +3.1 percentage points. Consumers' write-in responses on economic factors picked up slightly more references to jobs and unemployment during the survey period.
Looking ahead, consumers grew less optimistic about business conditions over the next six months, with net expectations for business conditions dipping to -3.3%. Expectations for labor market conditions improved slightly but remained in negative territory. Peterson noted that consumers anticipate little improvement in business conditions over the next six months, though income expectations stayed optimistic overall.
The survey period ran July 1–22, encompassing ongoing conflict in the Middle East. The Conference Board noted that mentions of war, geopolitics, and conflict eased during the sample period, though recent reacceleration of fighting could lift such references in revised data. References to food and grocery prices increased in frequency.
Consumer confidence ticked up modestly in June to 91.2 as falling oil prices offered some relief from inflation concerns, though that reading fell short of economist forecasts. The Present Situation Index had already dropped 3.0 points that month, reflecting softening views of business and employment conditions even as the Expectations Index climbed. Before June, confidence reversed course in May, when rising energy costs tied to the Middle East conflict weighed on Americans' assessment of current conditions.
The survey, conducted by Toluna, was based on an online sample with a preliminary cutoff date of July 22.
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