Consumers became more optimistic about the U.S. economy as the presidential election approached, despite job openings hitting multi-year lows, according to reports released on Tuesday.
The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index for October increased by over 11% to a reading of 138, marking its largest one-month gain since March 2021. Additionally, the board’s expectations index for future conditions surged by nearly 8% to a reading of 89.1, well above the sub-80 level that signals a recession.
Economists surveyed by Dow Jones had anticipated a headline number of 99.5.
Dana Peterson, the board’s chief economist, noted, “Consumers’ assessments of current business conditions turned positive. Views on the current availability of jobs rebounded after several months of weakness, potentially reflecting better labor market data.”
This positive sentiment contrasted with a report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which revealed that job openings fell to 7.44 million in September, a decrease of over 400,000 from the previous month and the lowest since January 2021. This figure was also below Wall Street’s forecast of 8.0 million.
The decline in job openings resulted in a job vacancy-to-worker ratio of less than 1.1 to 1, down from over 2 to 1 in mid-2022.
Despite the decrease in job openings, hires increased by 123,000 in the month, while separations remained stable and quits decreased by 107,000.
