Americans' view of the economy sinks to the lowest level since 2014,
Conference Board survey says
[September 30, 2026] By
MATT OTT
WASHINGTON (AP) — Americans’ confidence in the economy sank to the
lowest level in more than a decade this month as prices remain elevated
and wages stagnate amid the ongoing Iran war.
The Conference Board said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index
tumbled 6.7 points to 81.9 in September, down from 88.6 in August.
That’s the lowest reading in the board's survey since April 2014 and
below the lowest level reached during the pandemic.
Respondents’ views of their present situation fell by 7.9 points to
109.3. Their short-term outlook also slid, falling 5.9 points to 63.6.
Americans remain flustered by the economy after five years of elevated
inflation, potentially posing a risk to President Donald Trump and
Republicans in the midterm elections, which are a little more than a
month away.
Write-in responses to the board’s survey, collected from September 1-23,
were mostly pessimistic this month, with frequent references to the high
cost of gas, goods and services.
“The Consumer Confidence Index deteriorated notably in September,
following two prior months of softening,” said Dana Peterson, the
Conference Board’s chief economist, adding that consumers’ views of
current business conditions became negative for the first time since
September 2024.
Trump has continued to blame high prices on his predecessor, Democrat
Joe Biden, yet inflation has risen since Trump’s inauguration last year.
Earlier this month, the government reported that consumer inflation
accelerated last month and gas prices spiked as fighting in the Middle
East dragged on. The consumer price index rose 3.4% last month compared
with a year ago, the Labor Department said Friday, just like July. But
inflation quickened month to month as costs jumped 0.4% from July,
quadrupling the 0.1% registered in the previous month.
The Federal Reserve two weeks ago raised its benchmark interest rate for
the first time since 2023 in an effort to quell stubbornly high
inflation, and the central bank signaled another rate hike could occur
later this year.
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 The quarter-point increase lifted
the Fed’s key rate to about 3.9% and, over time, could result in
higher borrowing costs for mortgages, auto loans and credit cards.
Gasoline prices — which currently average $4.46 for a gallon of
regular — are not all that is rising. Prices for appliances, car
repairs, and wireless phone services also jumped in August.
The most recent measure of the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation
gauge — the personal consumption expenditures price index — was up
3.7% in June from a year earlier. That was down from May’s 4.1%
year-over-year increase but up from 2.8% before the Iran war began
on Feb. 28. It was 2.5% when Trump was inaugurated in January 2025.
The government issues its August PCE data Wednesday.
Consumers’ views of the current labor market also worsened in
September, but remained in positive territory, the board said.
Respondents broadly said they expected their household incomes to
rise, but not as much as in previous months.
The U.S. labor market bounced back in August as employers added a
surprising 162,000 jobs, ending a summer of lackluster hiring. The
unemployment rate remained at a low 4.1%, but some of that can be
attributed to significant numbers of people giving up on their
search for employment in previous months.
Inflation has dominated conversations this year in business and
households, and meager pay raises have made rising prices more
painful for many. Average hourly wages rose 3.1% last month from a
year earlier, the weakest year-over-year increase since May 2021.
The government issues its September jobs report on Friday.
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