A hiring sign is seen in the window of a Manhattan business on November 27, 2025 in New York City.
Spencer Platt | Getty Images
Consumers are upset about the current economic situation and their future prospects, and concerns about the ability to find a job are growing, according to a Conference Board survey released Tuesday.
The board’s consumer confidence index for November fell to 88.7, a decline of 6.8 points from the previous month and the lowest reading since April. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones assumed a value of 93.2.
In addition, the expectations index fell by 8.6 points to 63.2, while the current situation index fell to 126.9, a decrease of 4.3 points.
“Consumers were significantly more pessimistic about business conditions six months from now,” said Dana Peterson, the panel’s chief economist. “By mid-2026, expectations for labor market conditions remained significantly negative, and expectations for higher household incomes declined dramatically after six months of strongly positive readings.”
A key reading in the report, which measures work expectations, showed a deterioration.
The share of workers saying there are “lots of jobs” has fallen to 6% from 28.6% in October, reflecting the current work climate reflected in other data points: “No hiring, no firing.” Another question about whether jobs are “hard to get” fell slightly to 17.9%, a decrease of 0.4 percentage points.
These results come on the same day that payroll company ADP reported that private companies have cut an average of 13,500 jobs over the past four weeks. Additionally, the Conference Board survey is consistent with other measurements indicating weaker consumer sentiment.
For example, the University of Michigan’s sentiment indicator fell 4.9% on a monthly basis in November, down 29% year-on-year.
The weak numbers coincided with public statements from several key Federal Reserve officials who believe further rate cuts are warranted. Traders are pricing in a high probability that the Fed will cut its key interest rate by another quarter of a percentage point in December.
In the Conference Board survey, Peterson found weaknesses across income and political groups.
“Consumers’ written responses to factors affecting the economy continued to be dominated by references to prices and inflation, tariffs and trade, and politics, with increasing mention of the federal government shutdown,” Peterson said. “Mention of the job market has decreased somewhat, but still stands out among all the other common topics that have not yet been mentioned.”
Inflation expectations rose, with respondents predicting a rate of 4.8% a year from now, well above the Fed’s 2% target and above the Michigan survey forecast of 4.5%. Respondents also expressed “very positive” expectations for the stock market next year.
Economic data was impacted by the recently ended shutdown. The government agencies responsible for the reports halted all data collection and publications as the standoff continued, with a handful of mostly outdated reports coming out in recent days.
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