Consumer sentiment ticks up, still much lower than before pandemic

Newly released consumer sentiment data showed Americans are feeling better about the economy.

The University of Michigan’s respected Consumer Sentiment metric released Friday showed an increase, although it is still lower overall compared to recent years 

“Consumer sentiment rose to its highest reading since May 2024, increasing for the second consecutive month and lifting about 2% above August,” Surveys of Consumers Director Joanne Hsu said in the data release. “The gain was led by an improvement in buying conditions for durables, driven by more favorable prices as perceived by consumers. Year-ahead expectations for personal finances and the economy both improved as well, despite a modest weakening in views of labor markets.”

The consumer sentiment rose 1.6% in September over the previous month, up to 69.

While the recent increase, part of a 1.8% increase in the last year, shows Americans feel better about the economy, it is still lower than before the pandemic. In 2020, the index was about 100.

Consumer sentiment plummeted earlier in the Biden-Harris administration, when inflation soared. Prices have risen more than 20% since President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris took the White House.

In recent months inflation has slowed, though prices remain elevated.

“Sentiment is now about 40% above its June 2022 low, though consumers remain guarded as the looming election continues to generate substantial uncertainty,”Hsu said. “A growing share of both Republicans and Democrats now anticipate a Harris win. Consistent with their divergent views of the implications of a Harris presidency for the economy, partisan gaps in sentiment inched up.”