US consumer confidence falls to lowest level since May 2014 as labor concerns grow
The Conference Board reported a sharp decline in consumer confidence for January. Deteriorating views on jobs and inflation drove the index to an 11.5-year low.
Insights:
The Conference Board reported on Tuesday that consumer confidence in the US 
USfell sharply in January 2026, reaching its lowest level since May 2014. The index dropped 9.7 points to 84.5, significantly missing the 90.9 level forecast by economists polled by Reuters. This decline, recorded with a survey cutoff date of January 16, 2026, reflects a broad deterioration in sentiment that spanned political party affiliations, with Independents expressing the most pessimistic views regarding the current economic landscape.
USfell sharply in January 2026, reaching its lowest level since May 2014. The index dropped 9.7 points to 84.5, significantly missing the 90.9 level forecast by economists polled by Reuters. This decline, recorded with a survey cutoff date of January 16, 2026, reflects a broad deterioration in sentiment that spanned political party affiliations, with Independents expressing the most pessimistic views regarding the current economic landscape.Deteriorating perceptions of the labor market were a primary driver of the downturn. The share of consumers viewing jobs as plentiful dropped to 23.9 percent from 27.5 percent, while the share stating that jobs are hard to get rose to 20.8 percent from 19.1 percent. Consequently, the labor market differential fell to 3.1 from 8.4, marking its lowest reading since February 2021. Despite the pessimistic data, the stock market traded higher following the report, providing some support to the retail sector and the SPDR S&P Retail ETF .
