Hey there! Have you ever felt excited about something, then started to feel a bit worried? Well, that’s kind of what’s happening with people in the United States right now when it comes to the economy.
The Conference Board, a group that studies how people feel about spending money, shared some news. They said that in March, people were feeling less confident about the economy for the fourth month in a row. Their special number, called the Consumer Confidence Index, went down to 92.9. Last month, experts thought it would be higher at 94.2, but it was lower.
“Consumers’ expectations were especially gloomy,” said Stephanie Guichard, a senior economist at the Conference Board. That means people are worried about things like jobs and how much money they’ll have in the future.
They have another number called the Expectations Index. This number shows how people feel about what’s going to happen soon with jobs and money. It dropped to 65.2, the lowest it’s been in 12 years! Usually, if this number goes below 80, it might mean a recession is coming. A recession is when the economy isn’t doing so well.
Ms. Guichard also said that people aren’t feeling so hopeful about making more money. They’re also not so sure about the stock market. The stock market is where people buy and sell shares of companies. For the first time since late last year, more people think the stock market might not go up.
In fact, only 37.4% of people think stock prices will rise over the next year. That’s fewer than before! In February, about 47% of people thought stocks would go up. Back in November, it was even higher!
All this information comes from a survey where people answer questions online. They collected answers until March 19.
It’s important to know how people feel about the economy because it can affect how they spend money. When people are worried, they might save more and spend less, which can slow down the economy even more.
Let’s hope things start looking up soon! 🤞
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
