Consumer Sentiment continues its slide.
Meanwhile, consumers now expecting inflation to top 6.7% pic.twitter.com/8ZaheWURXq
— Jack Jernigan (@JackJernigan1) April 11, 2025
Consumer sentiment plunged 11% this month to a preliminary reading of 50.8, the University of Michigan said in its latest survey released Friday, the second-lowest reading on records going back to 1952. April’s reading was lower than anything seen during the Great Recession.
The survey’s mid-month reading on consumer sentiment fell to 50.8, down from 57.0 in March and below the Dow Jones consensus estimate for 54.6. The move represented a 10.9% monthly change and was 34.2% lower than a year ago.
As sentiment moved lower, inflation worries surged.
Respondents’ expectation for inflation a year from now leaped to 6.7%, the highest level since November 1981 and up from 5% in March. At the five-year horizon, the expectation climbed to 4.4%, a 0.3 percentage point increase from March and the highest since June 1991.
Other measures in the survey also showed deterioration.
The current economic conditions index fell to 56.5, an 11.4% drop from March, while the expectations measure slipped to 47.2, a 10.3% fall. On an annual basis, the two measures dropped 28.5% and 37.9% respectively.
Sentiment declines came across all demographics, including age, income and political affiliation, according to Joanne Hsu, the survey director.
“Consumers report multiple warning signs that raise the risk of recession: expectations for business conditions, personal finances, incomes, inflation, and labor markets all continued to deteriorate this month,” Hsu said.
In addition to the other readings, the survey showed unemployment fears rising to their highest since 2009.
The survey comes amid concerns that President Donald Trump’s tariffs will raise inflation and slow growth, with some prominent Wall Street executives and economists expecting the U.S. could teeter on recession over the next year.