Consumers Uneasy About US Labor Market, Household Finances in Year Ahead: New York Fed

Consumers are increasingly anxious about the U.S. labor market and their household finances, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s August Survey of Consumer Expectations (SCE).
Nearly 38 percent of respondents told the regional central bank that they expect the unemployment rate will be higher one year from now, up from 36.6 percent in July.

Fewer consumers expected to lose their jobs in the next 12 months, tumbling by one percentage point from the July report to 13.3 percent. This was below the 12-month trailing average of 13.7 percent.

SCE data also showed that the perceived probability of finding employment if one’s job is lost dipped by 0.2 percentage points to 52.3 percent. This, too, was below the 12-month average of 53.9 percent.

The probability of leaving a job voluntarily also slipped by nearly 2 percent to 19.1 percent.

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