Americans are losing confidence in President Joe Biden’s economy as inflation continues to outpace wages.
The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) fell for the second consecutive month, coming in at 102.9 in February, down from a downwardly revision of 106.0 in January.
The Present Situation Index edged up to 152.8, while the Expectations Index plummeted to 69.7.
“Consumer confidence declined again in February. The decrease reflected large drops in confidence for households aged 35 to 54 and for households earning $35,000 or more,” said Ataman Ozyildirim, Senior Director, Economics at The Conference Board.
“While consumers’ view of current business conditions worsened in February, the Present Situation Index still ticked up slightly based on a more favorable view of the availability of jobs. In fact, the proportion of consumers saying jobs are ‘plentiful’ climbed to 52.0 percent—back to levels seen in the spring of last year. However, the outlook appears considerably more pessimistic when looking ahead. Expectations for where jobs, incomes, and business conditions are headed over the next six months all fell sharply in February.”
The good news? The 12-month inflation expectations improved, sliding from 6.7 percent to 6.3 percent.
It looked like the United States was out of the woods after Christmas, but the hangover may be getting started.
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