Consumer sentiment dropped in March, signifying that worries about the economy, government policies and personal finances are taking their toll, according to the University of Michigan’s latest sentiment survey released on Friday.

The survey, which gauges consumer attitudes on economic issues, posted a reading of 57.9, down 10.5% from February and a decrease of 27.1% from one year ago. The Dow Jones consensus estimate for March consumer sentiment was for a drop to 63.2, according to CNBC.

Consumer sentiment has now fallen for three consecutive months and is currently down 22% from December 2024.

The current conditions index fell only 3.3%, but the measure of expectations for the future fell across multiple facets of the economy, including personal finances, labor markets, inflation, business conditions and stock markets.

“Many consumers cited the high level of uncertainty around policy and other economic factors. Frequent gyrations in economic policies make it very difficult for consumers to plan for the future, regardless of one’s policy preferences,” wrote Joanne Hsu, director of Surveys of Consumers at the University of Michigan.

Consumers surveyed who described themselves as Democrats, independents and Republicans all registered that their general outlook has weakened since February, according to Hsu. Republicans posted a 10% decline in their expectations index in March. Independents and Democrats showed an even stronger decline of 12% and 24%, respectively.

The sentiment survey found that inflation expectations for 2025 rose to 4.9%, the highest reading since November 2022 and the third consecutive month of unusually large increases of 0.5% or more. The expectations of inflation increases were seen across all three political affiliations. Consensus inflation levels beyond this year increased from 3.5% in February to 3.9% in March, the largest month-over-month increase since 1993.