The stock market apparently isn’t the only thing being affected by the back-and-forth on U.S. tariffs.
According to The Conference Board, consumer confidence in the American economy has dropped to levels not seen since the Covid pandemic.
The Conference Board, a global, nonprofit think tank and business membership organization, said this week consumer confidence dropped for the fifth straight month and now sits lower than at any time since the beginning of Covid in early 2020, blaming the continuing fall on anxiety over tariffs.
According to The Conference Board, its consumer confidence index fell 7.9 points in April to 86, its lowest reading since May 2020. Nearly a third of consumers expect hiring to slow in the coming months, nearly matching the level reached in April 2009, when the economy was mired in the Great Recession, according to a report from The Associated Press.
About half of Americans are also worried about the potential for a recession, according to a survey by The Associated Press-NORC Center.
A measure of Americans’ short-term expectations for their income, business conditions and the job market plunged 12.5 points to 54.4, the lowest level in more than 13 years. The reading is well below 80, which typically signals a recession ahead.
