Consumer confidence unexpectedly declines in June
Consumer confidence unexpectedly declines in June

Consumer confidence unexpectedly declines in June

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Consumer confidence unexpectedly declines in June

Consumer confidence retreated in June after increasing the previous month amid President Trump’s various tariff delays. The latest index reading from the Conference Board was 93 in June, below the 98.4 seen in May and the 99.8 economists had expected. In June, 18.1% of consumers said jobs were “hard to get,” down slightly from 18.4% in month prior. This pushed the difference between the two — a closely watched sentiment reading called the labor market differential — to just 11.1 percentage points in June.

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Consumer confidence retreated in June after increasing the previous month amid President Trump’s various tariff delays.

The latest index reading from the Conference Board was 93 in June, below the 98.4 seen in May and the 99.8 economists had expected. The expectations index decreased to 69 in June from 73.6 in May when it saw its largest one-month increase since 2009.

“Tariffs remained on top of consumers’ minds and were frequently associated with concerns about their negative impacts on the economy and prices,” Stephanie Guichard, senior economist of global indicators at the Conference Board, said in a press release. “Inflation and high prices were another important concern cited by consumers in June.”

While the effective US tariff rate has come down significantly from its peak above 25% in early April, it remains significantly higher than where the year started. The Yale Budget Lab estimates the effective US tariff rate is currently 14.7%, the highest level since 1938.

The cutoff date for the preliminary survey was June 18, which means some consumers could have considered the recent conflict between Iran and Israel in their responses. But Guichard noted this wasn’t a top of mind concern for respondents as mentions of geopolitics and social unrest “remained much lower on the list of topics affecting consumers’ views.”

Consumer confidence retreated in June as the highest tariffs in more than 80 years remained a top concern for Americans. (Photo by James Williamson – AMA/Getty Images) · James Williamson – AMA via Getty Images

In June, 29.2% of respondents said jobs were “plentiful,” down from 31.1% in May. Meanwhile, 18.1% of consumers said jobs were “hard to get,” down slightly from 18.4% in month prior. This pushed the difference between the two — a closely watched sentiment reading called the labor market differential — to just 11.1 percentage points in June. That marked the lowest gap since March 2021 when the job market was recovering from the pandemic.

The declines come as job openings have fallen from the start of 2025 while weekly filings for unemployment claims are hovering near their highest level in eight months.

“Consumers were more pessimistic about business conditions and job availability over the next six months, and optimism about future income prospects eroded slightly,” Guichard said.

Josh Schafer is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow him on X @_joshschafer.

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Source: Finance.yahoo.com | View original article

Source: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/consumer-confidence-unexpectedly-declines-in-june-152019889.html

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