Business & Finance

US consumer confidence falls to lowest level since 2014 amid inflation concerns

The Conference Board's sentiment index dropped to 81.9 in September as consumers cited rising prices and a softening labor outlook.

Updated Sep 30, 2026 · 00:13 UTC3 reports

The short version

The Conference Board reported that its Consumer Confidence Index dropped 6.7 points in September to 81.9, marking its lowest reading since 2014 and missing analyst expectations.[CNBC · Al Jazeera · The Hill]
Survey respondents pointed to climbing prices for goods and fuel, alongside growing worries about the labor market and geopolitical conflict.[CNBC · Al Jazeera]
Personal financial outlooks soured, with more participants rating their finances as bad rather than good for the first time in the survey question's four-year history.[CNBC]

The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index fell 6.7 points to 81.9 in September 2026, dropping below the Dow Jones consensus forecast of 89.[CNBC · The Hill]
For the first time in the four-year history of the survey question, more respondents described their personal financial situation as bad rather than good.[CNBC]
Average expected inflation among survey respondents increased by 0.3 percentage points to 6.1% in September.[CNBC]
The gap between survey respondents viewing jobs as plentiful versus hard to get declined 2.5 percentage points to 1.7%.[CNBC]
According to AAA, the average price of petrol rose 37 cents over the past month to reach $4.45 per gallon.[Al Jazeera]
Bureau of Labor Statistics data showed August 2026 job openings fell by 256,000 to 7.08 million, below consensus expectations of 7.2 million.[CNBC]

Outlets reported conflicting figures for the drop in the Expectations Index, with CNBC citing a 5.9-point decline to 63.6 while The Hill reported a 3.2-point decline to nearly 60.[CNBC · The Hill]

Outlet counts describe coverage, not independent confirmation. Reports may share a wire service or original source.