WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans' confidence in the economy slumped for the fifth straight month to the lowest level since the onset of the COIVD-19 pandemic as anxiety over the impact of tariffs take a heavy toll on consumer expectations for future growth.
The Conference Board said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index fell 7.9 points in April to 86, its lowest reading since May 2020.
The figures reflect a rapidly souring mood among consumers, most of whom expect prices to rise because of the widespread tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump. About half of Americans are also worried about the potential for a recession, according to a survey by The Associated Press-NORC Center.
How this gloomy mood translates into spending, hiring, and growth will become clearer in the coming days and weeks. On Wednesday, the government will report on U.S. economic growth during the first three months of the year, and economists believe it will show a sharp slowdown as consumers pulled back on spending after a strong winter holiday shopping season.
And on Friday the Labor Department will release its latest report on hiring and the unemployment rate. Overall, economists expect it should still show steady job gains, though some forecast it could show sharply reduced hiring.
Job openings in the United States fell in March as President Donald Trump’s trade wars clouded the economic outlook
U.S. employers posted 7.2 million vacancies in March, down from 7.5 million in February and 8.1 million in March 2024, the Labor Department reported Tuesday. It was the fewest number of openings since September and below the 7.5 million that economists had forecast.
But the department's Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary also showed that the number of Americans quitting their jobs — a sign of confidence in the economy — rose modestly. And layoffs fell to the lowest level since June.
Openings remain high by historical standards but have fallen steadily since peaking at 12.1 million in March 2022 when the economy was still bouncing back from COVID-19.
The American job market has proven remarkably resilient. Companies, nonprofits and government agencies continued hire in the face of high interest rates engineered by the Federal Reserve to combat a resurgence of inflation.
The economic outlook is uncertain, largely because of Trump’s policies — huge taxes on imports, purges of federal workers and the deportation of immigrants working in the United States illegally.
Still, federal job cuts by billionaire Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency didn't have much impact in the March numbers; federal layoffs actually dipped to 8,000 from February's 19,000, which had been the most since November 2020.
“The job market is continuing to hold its own, but barely,” said Robert Frick, economist with the Navy Federal Credit Union. “While job openings dropped below forecasts, they haven’t hit a post-COVID low.
“Hiring holds steady and layoffs dipped a bit, showing that, overall, employers are clinging to the employees they have. But this is likely the calm before the storm, as layoffs are pending in government contractors and manufacturers, and other sectors affected by government layoffs and tariffs.”