After a slight uptick last period, economic sentiment fell again over the past two weeks, declining 0.5 points to 40.5, according to the HPS-CivicScience Economic Sentiment Index (ESI). This reading marks the second-lowest in ESI history, following its all-time low of 40.1 last month.
This week’s reading indicates a divergence in consumer sentiment about their own finances versus the state of the overall economy. As Americans continue to grapple with a housing shortage, confidence in the housing market dropped 2.7 points to an all-time low of 27.4. Also driving this week’s decline in economic sentiment was falling confidence in personal finances, which fell 2.4 points to 53.1—likely a continued reflection of supply chain issues and inflation worries heading into the holiday season. On the other hand, confidence in the overall U.S. economy jumped to 38.1, a notable 3.9-point increase that may indicate rising optimism about the general economy—even if consumers aren’t feeling the same way about their own finances. Here’s how the other indicators moved:
– Confidence in making a major purchase dropped 0.8 points to 27.9
– Confidence in the job market dropped 0.2 points to 56.1
