Despite job postings hitting multi-year lows, consumers’ confidence in the U.S. economy increased ahead of the controversial presidential election.
In October, the Conference Board’s consumer confidence index increased by over 11% to 138, marking the largest one-month acceleration since March 2021.
The board’s expectations index of future conditions also increased by about 8%, reaching 89.1, which is significantly above the sub-80 level that denotes a recession.
The headline figure of 99.5 was what Dow Jones’ survey of economists had been aiming for. The board’s senior economist, “consumers’ assessments of current business conditions turned positive.”
Following a period of decline for several months, opinions of the present state of job availability improved, possibly as a result of improved labour market data.
That view appeared to be at odds with a report from the Bureau of Labour Statistics that showed job opportunities fell to 7.44 million in September, the lowest since January 2021 and down more than 400,000 from the downwardly revised number the previous month. It was also less than the 8.0 million Wall Street had predicted.
Source (CNBC)
