U.S. Consumer Confidence Drops to Lowest Since COVID-19 😟
Hey there! Have you ever felt a bit worried about the future? Well, right now, lots of people in the United States are feeling that way about the economy. Let’s find out what’s going on! 🕵️♂️
What is Consumer Confidence?
Consumer confidence is a fancy way of saying how people feel about the economy. If people feel good and confident, they are more likely to spend money. If they’re worried, they might save their money instead. 💰
What’s Happening Now?
According to a group called The Conference Board (they study how the economy is doing), Americans are less confident about the economy than they’ve been since May 2020, which was during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic. 😷
In April, their consumer confidence index (a number that shows how people feel) fell to 86 points. That’s a drop of 7.9 points! 📉
Why Are People Worried?
- Many people are concerned about tariffs. Tariffs are taxes on goods from other countries, and they can make things more expensive. 🛍️
- Nearly one-third of people think that hiring (getting new jobs) will slow down soon. This is similar to how things were in 2009 during the Great Recession. 😕
- About half of Americans are worried there might be a recession. A recession is when the economy isn’t doing well for a while. 🌧️
Why Does This Matter?
When people are worried, they might spend less money. Carl Weinberg, a chief economist, says, “Rattled consumers spend less than confident consumers. If confidence sags and consumers retrench, growth will go down.” That means if people spend less, the economy can slow down even more. 🐌
Looking Ahead
The measure of people’s short-term expectations (how they think things will be soon) for income, business, and jobs also dropped a lot—to the lowest in over 13 years! 😮
It’s important to pay attention to these feelings because they can affect how the economy grows. Let’s hope things start looking up soon! 🌟
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
