(AURN News) — Despite political claims that the U.S. economy is strong, many Americans are experiencing a different reality. Persistent inflation, elevated prices and continued job losses have placed additional strain on working-class households. As the holiday shopping season continues, consumer confidence remains shaky even as the federal government resumes normal operations following the recent shutdown.
The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index fell by 6.8 points in November, landing at 88.7 — down from 95.5 in October.
“Consumers were notably more pessimistic about business conditions six months from now. Mid-2026 expectations for labor market conditions remained decidedly negative, and expectations for increased household incomes shrunk dramatically, after six months of strongly positive readings,” said Dana Peterson, chief economist for The Conference Board.
With Black Friday approaching, expectations for major purchases are declining. Data from the index shows that the share of Americans planning to buy big-ticket items in the next six months has dropped. Consumers also reported plans to scale back spending on a range of services. When evaluating overall business conditions, only 20.1% of respondents said conditions were “good.”
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