"The figures suggest that Americans are increasingly wary of high costs and sluggish job gains, with perceptions of the labor market worsening, the survey found. Declining confidence could pose political problems for Trump and Republicans in Congress, as the dimmer views of the economy were seen among all political affiliations and were particularly sharp among independents, the Conference Board said."
"Less-confident consumers may spend less, though the connection isn't always clear. In recent years, consumer spending has held up even when the available data suggests they've grown more anxious. "We do not think that consumer spending is about to hit a cliff, as spending has decoupled from confidence, but risks to the downside are increasing," Thomas Simons, chief U.S. economist at Jefferies, an investment bank, said."
"The proportion of consumers that said jobs are "plentiful" dropped to 27.6% in November, down from 28.6% in the previous month. It is down sharply from 37% in December. At the same time, 17.9% said jobs are "hard to get," slightly below the 18.3% who said so in October. That figure is up from 15.2% in September. The figures on job availability are seen by economists as reliable predictors of hiring and the unemployment rate."
Consumer confidence fell to 88.7 in November from a revised 95.5 in October, the lowest level since April when tariffs unsettled markets. Americans expressed growing concern about elevated costs and sluggish job gains, with independents showing particularly sharp declines. Retail sales slowed in September and economists expect weaker fourth-quarter growth, in part because of the shutdown. Consumer spending has so far held up despite lower confidence, but analysts warn downside risks are increasing. The share saying jobs are plentiful declined to 27.6%, while 17.9% said jobs are hard to get, signaling hiring and unemployment implications.
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