U.S. Consumer Confidence Tracker

Key Takeaways

• Morning Consult's Index of Consumer Sentiment (ICS) declined in the past week amid unease over the ongoing government shutdown. Delayed paychecks for furloughed workers and potential impacts to services like nutrition assistance programs may be stoking concern about household financial conditions, while the suspension of critical economic reports from agencies like the Bureau of Labor Statistics increases uncertainty about the health of the economy overall.  

• Among the underlying components of the ICS, perceptions of future business conditions as well as current buying conditions deteriorated notably in the past week, whereas views on personal finances did not decline as strongly. Residual strength in household balance sheets appears to be buffering U.S. consumers against gathering economic headwinds, but wavering views on future conditions suggest growing uncertainty about how long this resilience can last. 

• Adults of all income levels contributed to the weekly decline in sentiment, but those earning at least $100,000 annually have had the most substantial drop in ICS scores recently. The recent downslide in high earners' views has narrowed their sentiment gap with low-income adults (those earning less than $50,000), which had previously been widening throughout 2025. 

• Notably, government employees' sentiment did not show a large drop in the initial days of the shutdown, despite reports of potential layoffs for some furloughed workers. 

• Workers identifying as self-employed had a more sizable decrease in economic views. Dimmer expectations for business conditions going forward may convey more of  a threat to those whose incomes are tied to self-owned businesses with fluctuating revenues, rather than private sector or even government employees whose risk of income loss is mainly a function of job security.