Consumer confidence tumbles in November
Consumer confidence fell in November to its second lowest level since April amid reduced confidence across jobs, incomes and financial situations — both now and in the future.
The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index declined by 6.8 points in November to 88.7 from an upwardly revised reading of 95.5 in October. The cutoff for preliminary results was Nov. 18, 2025.
The Present Situation Index — based on consumers’ assessment of current business and labor market conditions — fell by 4.3 points to 126.9. The Expectations Index — based on consumers’ short-term outlook for income, business and labor market conditions — fell by 8.6 points to 63.2. The Expectations Index has tracked below 80 for ten consecutive months.
“Consumers were notably more pessimistic about business conditions six months from now,” said Dana M Peterson, chief economist, The Conference Board. “Mid-2026 expectations for labor market conditions remained decidedly negative, and expectations for increased household incomes shrunk dramatically, after six months of strongly positive readings.”
Peterson added that consumers’ write-in responses about factors affecting the economy continued to be led by references to prices and inflation, tariffs and trade, and politics, with increased mentions of the federal government shutdown. Consumers’ average 12-month inflation expectations remained elevated in November, and the median rate increased to 4.8%.
Purchasing Plans
Plans for buying big-ticket items over the next six months declined in November following little change since May. After staging a mild comeback on a six-month moving average basis from early-summer lows, expectations for purchasing cars ticked downward, for both new and used vehicles.
Purchasing plans for household appliances and most electronics also edged lower in November but remained above 2025 lows. Used cars, TVs, and smartphones remained the most popular future purchases among these categories. Homebuying expectations also ticked down in November but remained near two-year highs.
In November, consumers also curbed planned spending on services over the next six months. From October’s survey to November’s, consumers signaled reduced spending on nearly every category queried with two exceptions: historic sites, museums, and libraries intentions inched up, and childcare and educational services plans were unchanged. But both categories ranked among the bottom three with amusement parks and outdoor recreation.
The top-five categories for planned services spending over the next six months continued to include restaurants, bars, take-out, streaming, internet, mobile services; beauty and personal care; and hotels, motels for personal travel.
Additional insights from the November report are below.
Present Situation
Consumers’ assessments of current business conditions worsened in November.
- 1% of consumers said business conditions were “good,” down from 20.7% in October.
- 9% said business conditions were “bad,” up from 14.5%.
On balance, consumers’ views of the labor market on net were a tad weaker in November.
- 6% of consumers said jobs were “plentiful,” down from 28.6% in October.
- However, 17.9% of consumers said jobs were “hard to get,” down from 18.3%.
Expectations Six Months Out
Consumers were more pessimistic about future business conditions in November.
- 9% of consumers expected business conditions to improve, down from 18.9% in October.
- 7% expected business conditions to worsen, up from 22.2%.
Consumers were on net a bit more worried about the labor market outlook in November.
- 6% of consumers expected more jobs to be available, down from 15.8% in October.
- 5% anticipated fewer jobs, down from 28.8%.
Consumers’ outlook for their income prospects was less positive in November.
- 3% of consumers expected their incomes to increase, down from 18.2% in October.
- 13.8% expected their incomes to decrease, up from 11.8%.
