Overview
- The University of Michigan’s preliminary index fell to 50.3, missing forecasts and marking the weakest reading since June 2022.
- The survey’s Current Conditions gauge dropped to a record 52.3, while the Expectations measure slipped to 49.0.
- Seventy-one percent of households now expect unemployment to rise over the next year, highlighting mounting job worries.
- The decline was broad across age, income and political groups, with a notable exception for large stockholders who saw roughly an 11% improvement in sentiment.
- Respondents pointed to shutdown effects including benefit cuts, furloughs and travel disruptions, as suspended federal data push greater reliance on private reports ahead of a final Nov. 21 reading.