Anxieties over a stagnant job market and reaccelerating consumer prices kept consumer sentiment near five-month lows in October, according to preliminary survey results published by the University of Michigan on Friday.
The university’s index of consumer sentiment, which measures attitudes about the economy, remained essentially flat from September, falling 0.1 points to 55 in October.
“Pocketbook issues like high prices and weakening job prospects remain at the forefront of consumers’ minds,” noted Joanne Hsu, director of Surveys of Consumers at the university.
The consumer price index (CPI), a common measure of inflation, rose 2.9% in August, its fastest pace since January, driven by housing and grocery costs, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported last month.
“Overall,” Hsu added, “consumers perceive very few changes in the outlook for the economy from last month.”
In the meantime, a U.S. government shutdown that commenced Oct. 1 has delayed the release of official government data on matters like job creation and inflation, clouding economic outlooks for consumers, markets and policymakers.
A September jobs report — the Employment Situation Summary scheduled for release by the BLS on Oct. 3 but subsequently delayed — became the first BLS report to be delayed by the government shutdown. However, a BLS notice issued Friday indicated that its September CPI update will be belatedly issued Oct. 24.
The university’s preliminary estimates show consumers’ year-ahead inflation expectations ebbed from 4.7% in September to 4.6% in October, while long-run inflation expectations held steady at 3.7%.
As for the shuttered federal offices, “interviews reveal little evidence that the ongoing federal government shutdown has moved consumers’ views of the economy thus far,” Hsu noted.
