Consumer sentiment among Americans sharply worsened in April.
The Conference Board, a U.S. economic research organization, reported on the 29th (local time) that the consumer confidence index for the U.S. was 86.0 (with 1985 as the base year of 100), a decline of 7.9 points compared to March.
The Conference Board's consumer confidence index is an economic indicator based on surveys. It does not represent actual economic activity statistics such as employment, consumption, and investment. However, it is interpreted as a leading indicator of the real economy as it reflects the sentiments of economic agents.
The Conference Board's consumer confidence index has shown a sharp decline in American consumer sentiment, continuing its downward trend for five consecutive months since December of last year. The April figure also saw a significant drop compared to the previous month, falling short of the expert forecast (87.3) compiled by Dow Jones.
In particular, the 'expectations index,' which reflects consumers' short-term outlook on income, business, and the labor market, plummeted by 12.5 points to 54.4, marking the lowest level since October 2011.
The market interprets the increasing economic uncertainty surrounding the tariff policies of former U.S. President Donald Trump as a factor affecting the deterioration of consumer confidence. Stephanie G. Gichard, a senior economist at the Conference Board, noted that "all three expectation factors—business conditions, employment outlook, and future income—have significantly worsened, reflecting pervasive pessimism for the future," adding that "the percentage of consumers expecting job losses within the next six months is 32.1%, similar to the levels recorded in April 2009 during the financial crisis."
Not only consumer sentiment, but demand in the U.S. labor market, as indicated by job openings, also decreased in March. According to the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) released by the U.S. Department of Labor, the number of job openings in March was 7.19 million.
This is the lowest level in six months since recording 7.10 million in September of last year and also falls short of the expert forecast of 7.5 million compiled by Dow Jones. However, compared to pre-transfer levels, it remains a relatively healthy figure.