Consumers Feel Better About Now and Worse About Later

The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index fell to 89.4 in August 2026 from a revised 90.2 in July, a decline of 0.8 points. The headline barely moved. What moved was the balance between how consumers described the present and how they described the next six months, and those two components went in opposite directions by more than five points each.

The split

• Consumer Confidence Index: 89.4, down from a revised 90.2 in July
• Present Situation Index: 121.2, up 6.8 points from 114.4
• Expectations Index: 68.2, down 5.8 points from 74.0
• Labor differential: plus 7.5 points, with 27.0% saying jobs are plentiful and 19.5% saying they are hard to get
• Survey cutoff date: August 16, 2026

Consumer confidence moderated slightly in August for a second consecutive month.

What consumers said about now

Assessments of current conditions improved. On business conditions today, 18.9% called them good against 17.6% bad, a net of plus 1.3%. The labor market read was stronger still: the gap between those calling jobs plentiful and those calling them hard to get widened by 4.8 points, to plus 7.5. The Conference Board described consumer appraisals of current business conditions as mildly positive.

What they said about the next six months

• Business conditions: 16.8% expect improvement, 23.1% expect deterioration - a net of -6.3%
• Jobs: 14.6% expect more jobs, 26.1% expect fewer - a net of -11.5%
• Income: 17.6% expect an increase, 13.8% expect a decline - a net of +3.8%
• Interest rates: 61.3% expect higher rates over the next year, down from 62% in July

Income expectations remained positive. Expectations for business conditions and for hiring did not. The Conference Board also reported that inflation expectations were slightly more elevated in August, and that consumers still perceived a low likelihood of a recession within twelve months.

Why it matters

Confidence readings are watched because expectations sometimes precede behaviour. A Present Situation Index at 121.2 alongside an Expectations Index at 68.2 describes a household that is reasonably comfortable with its current job and uneasy about the next six months. Which of those two halves ends up governing spending is the question this data does not answer.