Consumers’ confidence sinks during the fifth consecutive month as jobs, inflation fears increase from Trump’s trade policy

Consumers’ confidence fell in the fifth consecutive month in April, lowering to its lowest level since the first days of Covid-19 Pandemic, as the uncertainty around President Trump’s commercial policy increased expectations of inflation and weighed their employment prospects.

It Conference Consumer Consumer Index For April, it came to a reading of 86, a significant fall in the March 92.9 reading of March and the 88 reading that the economists expected.

The “current situation index”, which measures the evaluation of consumers of the current conditions of the business and the labor market, fell to 133.5 in April 134.5 in March.

The “expectation index”, which traces the short -term perspectives of consumers for income, business and labor market conditions, also fell to 54.4 in April from 65.2 last month. This was the lowest level since October 2011. Historically, a reading less than 80 in this category indicates a recession next year.

Meanwhile, average 12 months’ expectations of inflation increased to 7% in April, the highest level since November 2022, when the United States increased with an abnormally high increase in prices.

Above all, the survey took place until April 21, which means that it includes the measured period of time The shocking “Liberation Day” of President Trump Trump Tariff ad. Economists say they probably influenced the answers due to the national importance of the event and the potential impact on consumer perceptions.

“This is telling us that (commercial uncertainty) is reaching the consumer,” said Yelena Shulyatyeva, a United States economist at the Conference Board, told Yahoo Finance in an interview on Tuesday. “Consumers were very surprised by the seriousness of these rates. And they really expect the rates to affect their finances and their work.”

The conference council said that 32.1% of consumers now expect less employment opportunities in the next six months, a level that has not been seen since April 2009 during the height of the great recession. Adding these concerns, Separated data The Department of Labor, published on Tuesday, showed that the work openings spent about a minimum of four years.

“This is a frightening thing,” Shulyatyeva said about employment prospects. “We probably have to expect a much more significant increase in the unemployment rate.”

As worries about inflation and a weakening of the labor market, prospects for future revenue have become negative for the first time in five years, “suggesting that worries about the economy have spread to consumers who care about their own personal situations,” according to the statement.