US consumer confidence edges up in June on lower oil prices, but job market outlook dims

The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index, which measures Americans' perceptions of current economic conditions and their outlook, improved in June.

The Conference Board said Monday (local time) that its Consumer Confidence Index rose to 91.2 in June — based on a 1985 benchmark of 100 — up 0.6 points from the revised May reading of 90.6.

However, the result fell short of the 94.6 reading that economists had forecast, according to a Dow Jones survey.

A decline in the Present Situation Index, which reflects current business and labor market conditions, offset a rise in the Expectations Index. The Present Situation Index fell from 119.4 to 116.4, while the Expectations Index climbed from 71.4 to 74.4. Even after the gain, the Expectations Index remained below 80 — the threshold that typically signals a recession on the horizon.

In the Present Situation survey, 22.5 percent of respondents said jobs were "hard to get," the highest share since January 2021, when the figure stood at 22.8 percent.

The June index was calculated using survey responses collected from June 1 to June 23, capturing the impact of a ceasefire memorandum of understanding between the United States and Iran and the subsequent decline in global oil prices.

Dana Peterson, the Conference Board's chief economist, said consumers' assessment of current business conditions had improved slightly from a month earlier, but added that "their view of the current labor market situation has noticeably weakened."