Overview

• The August Survey of Consumer Expectations put the chance of finding a new job at 44.9%, down 5.8 percentage points from July and the lowest since 2013.
• Expectations that unemployment will be higher in a year rose to 39.1%, pointing to rising anxiety about labor conditions.
• Respondents reported slightly higher job-loss risk at 14.5% and a lower likelihood of quitting at 18.9%, reflecting a job-hugging trend noted by labor economists.
• The survey landed alongside a soft August payrolls report showing 22,000 jobs added and a 4.3% unemployment rate.
• The decline was broad-based across age, education, and income groups, with the steepest drop among those with at most a high school education, as one-year inflation expectations edged up to 3.2%.