Consumer confidence in October fell slightly as the government shutdown drags on and creates economic uncertainty.
The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index fell to 94.6 in October, down from 95.6 the month before, the group announced on Tuesday. That slight decrease comes as policymakers closely watch the labor market, which has shown signs of slowing.
“Consumer confidence moved sideways in October, only declining slightly from its upwardly revised September level,” said Stephanie Guichard, senior economist for global indicators at the Conference Board.
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The index that gauges consumers’ assessment of the current labor market and business conditions increased a bit from last month, although the headline number was dragged down by the Expectations Index, which is based on consumers’ short-term outlook for income, business, and labor market conditions.
Year-ahead inflation expectations rose slightly from 5.8% to 5.9%. But consumers were positive about their outlook for the stock market.
Additionally, in a separate gauge, consumer sentiment fell to 53.6, down from 55.1 in September, according to a final reading of the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index for October. Consumer sentiment is now down 24% from a year ago.
The readings come as some economic indicators suggest that job growth is slowing. The government shutdown has delayed the release of official jobs numbers, making it more difficult for investors and the Federal Reserve to assess conditions.
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The economy added just 22,000 jobs in August, and the unemployment rate rose to 4.3%. Also, the July jobs report revealed that some 258,000 fewer jobs were added in May and June than previously reported.
Additionally, the government announced that labor market growth for the 12 months ending in March was 911,000 jobs fewer than previously reported.
