U.S. consumer confidence faltered in September, with employment concerns tamping down consumers’ current and future outlooks on business and labor market conditions.

The Consumer Confidence Index fell 3.6 points this month to 94.2, its lowest reading since April, when it nosedived to 85.7 in the wake of the Trump administration’s tariff rollout. (A 100 reading is equal to 1985 levels, the year the benchmark was set by The Conference Board, a nonprofit think tank and research group.)

The board’s Present Situation Index, which measures consumers’ assessments of current business and labor market conditions, fell seven points to 125.4. The Expectations Index, which gauges the short-term economic outlooks of consumers, declined 1.3 points to 73.4.

Stephanie Guichard, senior economist for global indicators at The Conference Board, noted in a press release that the present situation component saw its biggest drop in a year.

“Consumers’ assessment of business conditions was much less positive than in recent months, while their appraisal of current job availability fell for the ninth straight month to reach a new multiyear low,” Guichard stated.

She added that optimism about future income helped mitigate more pessimistic views about future job availability. Guichard noted that mentions of jobs and employment rose to a level unseen since August 2024, and the sentiment was mostly negative. Just 26.9% of respondents said jobs were “plentiful,” down from 30.2% in August.

References to inflation in write-responses rose, though consumers’ average 12-month inflation expectations fell to 5.8% in September from 6.1% in August.

On the brighter side, purchasing plans for homes hit a four-month high as mortgage rates eased during September. But survey responses indicated weakening demand for both new and used cars, and vacation intentions fell to the lowest level since April.

“Almost all types of services registered a decline in buying intentions, especially travel-related services,” the Conference Board report noted.