(MENAFN) The Conference Board reported a sharp decline in American consumer sentiment for November, with its closely watched confidence gauge plummeting to 88.7—a drop of 6.8 points from the previous month's reading.

October's metric was adjusted upward to 95.5 points, yet November's outcome fell significantly short of analyst forecasts, which had anticipated a reading of 93.5, according to survey results published Tuesday.

The Present Situation Index—measuring how Americans view current employment and workforce conditions—decreased 4.3 points to settle at 126.9 during the month.

More concerning was the Expectations Index, which captures consumer outlooks on income and job market prospects over the coming months. This forward-looking measure tumbled 8.6 points to reach 63.2.

The Conference Board emphasized the indicator's persistent weakness in a statement: "The Expectations Index has tracked below 80 for ten consecutive months, the threshold under which the gauge signals recession ahead."

Dana Peterson, chief economist at the Conference Board, described the severity of the downturn: "Consumer confidence tumbled in November to its second lowest level since April after moving sideways for several months."

Peterson highlighted that projections for mid-2026 workforce conditions remained decidedly negative, while optimism about rising household earnings collapsed dramatically after half a year of strongly positive readings.

Guichard observed that consumer commentary revealed key anxieties: prices and inflation, tariffs and trade, plus politics—particularly growing references to the federal government shutdown—dominated written feedback from survey participants.

Employment concerns eased "somewhat" but continued to feature prominently among recurring themes beyond those already mentioned. "The overall tone from November write-ins was slightly more negative than in October."

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