WASHINGTON, Sept. 29, 2026 — U.S. consumer confidence fell sharply in September, according to a survey released Tuesday by The Conference Board. Its Consumer Confidence Index dropped 6.7 points to 81.9 from 88.6 in August, the lowest reading since April 2014. The measure records survey respondents’ views, not actual spending or a forecast of where the economy will go next.
What the September survey found
The Conference Board surveyed consumers from Sept. 1 through Sept. 23, according to the Associated Press. Its measure of current conditions fell 7.9 points to 109.3, while the short-term expectations measure declined 5.9 points to 63.6. Both present assessments and expectations weakened.
Labor-market views also became less favorable. Reuters reported that 23.6% of respondents said jobs were plentiful, down from 24.5% in August, while 21.9% said jobs were hard to get, up from 20.3%. Those answers describe how households perceive hiring conditions. They do not, by themselves, establish a change in payroll employment or unemployment.
In write-in responses, respondents frequently mentioned the cost of goods, services and gasoline, the AP reported. The Conference Board’s chief economist, Dana Peterson, said the responses were mostly pessimistic. The survey does not prove that any single event caused the index to decline; households may weigh prices, employment prospects and other concerns differently.
How to read the number
The index is a monthly snapshot of sentiment, with 1985 set at 100. A fall of 6.7 points measures the change in the survey index from August to September; it does not mean consumer spending fell by 6.7%. Reuters noted that the September result was below economists’ forecast of 89.2. A forecast miss describes the gap between a poll of economists and the published result, not a separate decline in spending.
The latest reading adds context to other recent economic indicators, but the measures answer different questions. For example, AskNovus recently explained what an FDIC bank closure meant for depositors. The confidence survey instead gauges households’ views of present and future conditions across the country.
Sources
- The Conference Board, U.S. Consumer Confidence, Sept. 29, 2026.
- Associated Press, Sept. 29, 2026.
- Reuters, Sept. 29, 2026.
Featured image: illustrative grocery aisle photograph by Franki Chamaki / Unsplash; not a photograph of survey respondents.
[…] For households following the broader economy, the release comes alongside weaker September sentiment measured in the Conference Board’s latest survey. AskNovus has a separate breakdown of the September 2026 consumer-confidence reading. […]
[…] The latest labor-demand data showed 7.1 million U.S. job openings in August. AskNovus explains that release in its report on the August 2026 JOLTS data. Consumer sentiment also weakened in September; see the consumer-confidence summary. […]