US consumer confidence drops to the lowest level in over three years, with slight increase in inflation expectations for the next year.

Consumer confidence in the United States has plummeted to its lowest level in over three years, reflecting the economic uncertainty brought on by the government shutdown, as well as continued high prices putting pressure on household finances. According to the preliminary November consumer sentiment index from the University of Michigan, consumer confidence in the United States dropped from 53.6 in October to 50.3, hitting a new low since June 2022 and falling below the expectations of most economists surveyed. The index measuring current economic conditions fell by 6.3 points to 52.3, marking the lowest level on record, indicating a rapid rise in public concerns about the potential impact of the government shutdown on economic activity. The report noted that this deteriorating sentiment was evident across all age, income, and political groups. The report revealed that for the past five months, more consumers have been actively expressing concerns about rising living costs and high prices, highlighting the sustained impact of inflation pressures on household spending. However, long-term inflation expectations have eased slightly, with consumers expecting the average annual inflation rate for the next 5 to 10 years to drop to 3.6%, a three-month low; however, expectations for inflation in the next year have slightly increased. Joanne Hsu, head of the University of Michigan survey, said, "Consumers are feeling financial pressures from multiple directions. They anticipate further weakening of the labor market in the future and believe that they may be affected." The index reflecting personal financial conditions hit a six-year low, and the conditions for purchasing big-ticket items deteriorated to the worst since mid-2022. In November, 71% of consumers expected the unemployment rate to rise in the coming year, double the proportion from a year ago. Hsu added, "Furthermore, consumers' assessment of their own risk of unemployment has also significantly worsened, reaching the highest level since March 2025." Earlier this week, data released by the ADP research institute showed that private sector job growth in the United States in October was only 42,000, marking the first increase in three months but still showing sluggish growth. Combined with recent frequent announcements of layoffs by large companies, this further intensified public concerns about the outlook for the job market. The index measuring future expectations fell to 49, hitting a six-month low. Currently, the longest government shutdown in U.S. history is causing delays in the release of key economic data, obstructing the market's view of the true economic situation, making consumer confidence surveys and other private data limited sources of reference.