U.S. consumer confidence declined sharply in January. The Conference Board said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index cratered 9.7 points to 84.5 in January, falling below even the lowest readings during the COVID-19 pandemic.

A measure of Americans’ short-term expectations for their income, business conditions and the job market tumbled to 65.1, well below 80, the marker that can signal a recession ahead. It’s the 12th consecutive month that reading has come in under 80. Consumers’ assessments of their current economic situation slid by 9.9 points.

“Confidence collapsed in January, as consumer concerns about both the present situation and expectations for the future deepened,” said Dana Peterson, the Conference Board’s chief economist. ”All five components of the index deteriorated, driving the overall index to its lowest level since May 2014 — surpassing its COVID19 pandemic depths.”

Respondents’ references to inflation, including gas and grocery prices, remained elevated. Perceptions of the job market also declined this month. 20.8% of consumers said jobs were “hard to get,” up from 19.1% the month previous.

The country’s labor market has been stuck in a “low hire, low fire” state, economists say. Earlier this month, the government reported that employers added just 50,000 jobs in December, nearly unchanged from 56,000 in November. Job gains have been subdued all year, particularly after April’s “liberation day” tariff announcement by Trump. The economy gained just 584,000 jobs in 2025, sharply lower than that more than 2 million added in 2024.

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