Consumer confidence continues decline

Confidence in sunshine? Check. Confidence in rain? Check. Confidence that spring will come again? Check.

Confidence in current business and labor market conditions? Well, that’s a little lacking at the moment. Consumer confidence declined for the fourth consecutive month, and consumers’ outlook on future conditions fell to its lowest point since 2013.

In March, the Conference Board’s consumer confidence index fell 7.2 points, bringing it down to 92.9. Analysts were anticipating a dip to 94.5, per FactSet.

Consumers’ short-term outlook on income, business, and the job market dropped to 65.2, which the Board notes is its “lowest level in 12 years and well below the threshold of 80 that usually signals a recession ahead.”

The percentage of consumers who expect a recession to occur in the next year was unchanged—from the nine-month high it was already at. Summed up: Consumers aren’t feeling great.

“Consumers’ optimism about future income—which had held up quite strongly in the past few months—largely vanished, suggesting worries about the economy and labor market have started to spread into consumers’ assessments of their personal situations,” Stephanie Guichard, senior economist of global indicators at The Conference Board, said in a statement.