The financial outlook for households deteriorated in April, with consumers forecasting a weaker labor market and lower expectations for both earnings growth and finding a job. Households also expect lower income growth over the next year, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s survey of consumer expectations.

The results for the monthly survey were gathered through April 30 and found that the outlook for consumers about their current financial situations and their expectations for their financial situations one year from now deteriorated sharply. However, their expectations for inflation were that it will be unchanged in the short term, increase in the medium term and decrease in the long term.

Expectations for median home price growth in April’s survey rose by 0.3% to 3.3%. Price growth expectations have been moving in a narrow range between 3% and 3.3% since August 2023. The forecast of rising prices was broad-based across age, income and education groups.

The expected growth in household income decreased by 0.2% to 2.6% in April, the lowest figure since April 2021. But growth expectations in household spending increased 0.3% during the month to a robust 5.2%.

Overall perceptions of the current financial situation in households compared to a year ago deteriorated sharply in April. Among those surveyed, the share of households reporting a worse situation rose and the share reporting a better situation declined. Also, year-ahead expectations about the financial state of households fell during the month.