The Conference Board said Tuesday its consumer sentiment index fell to 98.7 this month from an upwardly revised 105.6 in August.
This is the largest decline since August 2021.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast the index rising to 104.0 from the previously reported 103.3.
“The decline in the major components of the index reflects consumers’ concerns about the labor market and their reactions to shorter work hours, slower wage increases and fewer job opportunities, even as the labor market remains strong, with low unemployment, fewer layoffs and higher wages,” said Dana Peterson, chief economist at The Conference Board.
The percentage of consumers who said jobs were “plentiful” fell to 30.9 percent from 32.7 percent in August.
About 18.3 percent of consumers said jobs were “hard to get”, compared with 16.8 percent last month.
And reduce US Federal Reserve Interest rates last week were cut by 50 basis points to a range of 4.75% to 5%, in the first cut in borrowing costs since 2020, the bank’s president said. Jerome Powell It aims to demonstrate policymakers’ commitment to keeping unemployment low.
