New York Federal Reserve: Tight job market affects consumer confidence

A weak labour market this summer has weighed on Americans' views on the economic outlook. The New York Fed's latest survey of consumer expectations showed that consumer sentiment about future job prospects and the unemployment rate deteriorated in August, while short-term inflation expectations rose. The proportion of people expecting unemployment to rise in the coming year rose 1.7 percentage points to 39.1 per cent in August, up from 37.4 per cent in July. Meanwhile, expectations that people would find a new job if they lost their current one fell 5.8 percentage points to 44.9 per cent - the lowest since the New York Fed began tracking the data in June 2013. The pessimism about the labour market may be justified. Hiring has been weak since May. The U.S. added just 22,000 jobs in August, well below the 76,500 jobs economists had expected. The unemployment rate rose to 4.3 percent, its highest level since 2021, while the number of people filing for unemployment benefits rose steadily in August.