US consumer confidence index falls sharply in November

The U.S. Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index released on Tuesday stood at 88.7 in November, down 6.8 points from 95.5 in October.

The Present Situation Index, based on consumers' assessment of current business and labor market conditions, declined by 4.3 points to 126.9. The Expectations Index, which gauges consumers' short-term outlook for income, business and labor market conditions, fell 8.6 points to 63.2.

"Consumer confidence tumbled in November to its lowest level since April after moving sideways for several months," said Dana Peterson, chief economist at The Conference Board. "All five components of the overall index flagged or remained weak."

The Expectations Index has now been below 80 for 10 straight months, a level historically associated with a recession signal. The survey's preliminary data cutoff was Nov. 18.

"Consumers were notably more pessimistic about business conditions six months from now," said Peterson. "Mid-2026 expectations for labor market conditions remained decidedly negative, and expectations for increased household incomes shrank dramatically, after six months of strongly positive readings."

Consumer sentiment regarding the labor market was more pessimistic in November, with only 27.6 percent of respondents saying jobs were "plentiful," down from 28.6 percent in October.

The survey results arrived the same day payroll processor ADP reported that U.S. private-sector employers shed an average of 13,500 jobs per week over the past four weeks ending Nov. 8.