American consumer optimism has reached a low decade
National Retail Federation CEO Matt Shay provides insight into the supply chain crisis and labor shortages.
US consumer sentiment has reached a low in the decade driven by concerns about rising inflation, according to the latest figures.
The University of Michigan released its consumer survey data from November Wednesday, indicating that one in four respondents “cited inflationary erosion of living standards” this month. The index is now at 67.4%, down from 71.7% in October.
A woman carries shopping bags in New York. (AP Photo / Mark Lennihan, fil) (AP Photo / Mark Lennihan, fil)
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“Consumers expressed less optimism in the November 2021 survey than at any other time in the last decade about the outlook for their own economy as well as for the economy in general,” said Richard Curtin, chief economist at the University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers, in a statement.
People shop at a Walmart in Rosemead, California on November 22, 2021, where a few empty shelves were seen in an otherwise well-stocked store amid improvements in the supply chain crisis for the end of this year’s holiday season. (Photo by Frederic J. BROWN (Photo by FREDERIC J. BROWN / AFP via Getty Images / Getty Images)
“The decline was due to a combination of rapidly escalating inflation combined with the absence of federal policies that would effectively correct inflationary damage to household budgets,” Curtin continued. “While pandemic-induced shortages of supply were the trigger, the roots of inflation have grown and spread more widely across the economy.”
NEW YORK, NY – NOVEMBER 12: Shoppers search for clothing at Uniqlo Retail Clothing Company November 12, 2021 in New York City. Clothing prices have been on the rise in 2021, rising 4.3% in August compared with the same time last year. (Pho (Photo by Robert Nickelsberg / Getty Images)
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On Wednesday, the price index for personal consumption – which the Federal Reserve uses as an inflation measure – also reached its highest level in 31 years, rising by 5% from the year to last month.
FOX Business’ Megan Henney contributed to this report.
