Consumer confidence falls to lowest level in six years

Consumer confidence in August tumbled to a new pandemic low.

The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index declined in August for the second consecutive month, falling from 91.7 in July to 84.8 this month. The Present Situation Index – based on consumers' assessment of current business and labor market conditions – decreased sharply from 95.9 in July to 84.2 in August, with consumers stating that both business and employment conditions had deteriorated over the past month.

Consumers' optimism about the short-term outlook, and their financial prospects, also declined and continues on a downward path The Expectations Index – based on consumers' short-term outlook for income, business, and labor market conditions – declined from 88.9 in July to 85.2 this month.

“Consumer spending has rebounded in recent months but increasing concerns amongst consumers about the economic outlook and their financial well-being will likely cause spending to cool in the months ahead,” said Lynn Franco, senior director of economic indicators at The Conference Board.

The monthly Consumer Confidence Survey, based on a probability-design random sample, is conducted for The Conference Board by Nielsen, a leading global provider of information and analytics around what consumers buy and watch. The cutoff date for the preliminary results was August 14.