No, it's not just you—Americans are pretty much feeling more pessimistic about the economic outlook than at any time over the last two generations:
Consumer sentiment sank to its worst level on record in early June as the rising cost of food, gas, and other essentials weighed on American consumers.
The University of Michigan's closely watched Surveys of Consumers consumer sentiment index slumped to 50.2 in the preliminary June survey, marking the lowest level recorded by the survey, which dates back to the mid-'70s.
Friday's reading marked a drop from May's already-depressed level of 58.4, and missed estimates for a print of 58.1, according to Bloomberg data. Throughout 2019, the last year before the COVID-19 pandemic sent the economy into recession, the sentiment index had averaged around 96.0.
Here's the chart:
It all just keeps going doooooown.
Here's the full readout from Michigan:
Consumer sentiment declined by 14% from May, continuing a downward trend over the last year and reaching its lowest recorded value, comparable to the trough reached in the middle of the 1980 recession. All components of the sentiment index fell this month, with the steepest decline in the year-ahead outlook in business conditions, down 24% from May. Consumers' assessments of their personal financial situation worsened about 20%. Forty-six percent of consumers attributed their negative views to inflation, up from 38% in May; this share has only been exceeded once since 1981, during the Great Recession. Overall, gas prices weighed heavily on consumers, which was no surprise given the 65 cent increase in national gas prices from last month (AAA). Half of all consumers spontaneously mentioned gas during their interviews, compared with 30% in May and only 13% a year ago. Consumers expect gas prices to continue to rise a median of 25 cents over the next year, more than double the May reading and the second highest since 2015. In addition, a majority of consumers spontaneously mentioned supply shortages for the ninth consecutive month.
It's almost too brutal to watch.
Buckle those belts extra tight, folks—we're probably not at the bottom yet.
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