U.S. Consumer Confidence Falls to Over Three-Year Low, Expectations for Labor Market to Weaken Further

On November 7th, due to the drag on economic prospects resulting from the U.S. government shutdown and the worsening high inflation having an impact on personal financial expectations, U.S. consumer confidence has declined to the lowest level in more than three years. Preliminary data from the University of Michigan indicates that the consumer confidence index for November decreased from last month's 53.6 to 50.3, which is the lowest since June 2022. The current conditions index plummeted by 6.3 points to a record low of 52.3, suggesting that there is an increasing concern among the public regarding the impact of the government shutdown. The report points out that this overall decline in confidence is quite widespread among different age, income, and political groups. Although the spontaneous mentions of "high prices" have increased for the fifth consecutive month, long-term inflation expectations have eased to some extent. Consumers expect prices to rise at an average annual rate of 3.6% over the next five to ten years, reaching a three-month low. The statement said, "Consumers are experiencing personal financial pressure from multiple sources. They also anticipate that the labor market will continue to weaken in the future and expect to be affected themselves." Concerns about unemployment soared this month, with 71% of respondents expecting the unemployment rate to rise in the next year, which is more than twice the proportion compared to the same period last year. (Golden Finance)