Consumers have become more optimistic about the U.S. economy ahead of the contentious presidential election, even as job vacancies hit their lowest level in several years, according to separate reports released Tuesday.
The Conference Board's consumer confidence index for October rose more than 11% to a reading of 138, the largest one-month acceleration since March 2021. At the same time, the board's expectations index for future conditions rose nearly 8% to a reading of 89.1 well above the sub-80 level that indicates a recession.
Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had expected a total of 99.5.
“Consumers’ assessments of the current business situation have become positive,” said Dana Peterson, the panel’s chief economist. “Views on current job availability rebounded after several months of weakness, possibly reflecting better labor market data.”
That sentiment appeared to be at odds with a Bureau of Labor Statistics report showing job openings fell to 7.44 million in September, more than 400,000 fewer than the previous month's downwardly revised level and the lowest As of January 2021. This number was also below the Wall Street number forecast of 8.0 million.
The decline in job vacancies resulted in the ratio of job vacancies to available workers being less than 1.1 to 1. By mid-2022 the number was more than 2 to 1.
Although job openings declined, new hires increased by 123,000 month-over-month. There was little change in separations, while the number of layoffs fell by 107,000.
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