{"id":844,"date":"2026-05-26T16:34:25","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T16:34:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=844"},"modified":"2026-05-26T16:34:25","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T16:34:25","slug":"as-us-stock-market-hits-new-highs-2-of-3-americans-are-cutting-back-on-spending-survey-shows","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=844","title":{"rendered":"As US stock market hits new highs, 2 of 3 Americans are cutting back on spending, survey shows"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Getting your Trinity Audio player ready…<\/strong><\/div>\n
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By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER, AP Economics Writer<\/strong><\/p>\n

WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 U.S. consumer confidence declined slightly this month as gas prices stayed high and inflation remained elevated, a sharp contrast to soaring stock prices hover\u00a0near record levels.<\/p>\n

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The Conference Board\u2019s\u00a0consumer confidence index\u00a0slipped 0.7 points to 93.1 in May, the first decline after three months of gains. The measure hasn\u2019t fallen as much this year as other gauges of consumer attitudes, but it has been stuck at a low level since the pandemic. Before COVID-19, it regularly reached 130.<\/p>\n

A separate gauge of consumer sentiment\u00a0released last week\u00a0by the University of Michigan fell to a record low this month. Soaring gas and food costs have\u00a0worsened inflation\u00a0that is outpacing the average growth in paychecks, reducing most Americans\u2019 purchasing power. Americans have soured on President Trump\u2019s economic policies,\u00a0polls show, potentially creating problems for Republicans heading into the midterm elections.<\/p>\n

Consumer sentiment is mostly gloomy even as the economy is still growing and the unemployment rate has\u00a0stayed low. Some economists argue that the gap reflects inequality in a\u00a0\u201cK-shaped\u201d economy, with higher-income Americans benefitting from rising stock prices and still spending while lower-income households struggle.<\/p>\n

Tuesday\u2019s consumer confidence survey showed that confidence grew among households with incomes at or above $100,000, while it fell for most others.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe prospect of higher prices and faster inflation continues to loom over confidence readings with many households taking a more cautious approach to purchases this year,\u201d Ben Ayers, Nationwide senior economist, said.<\/p>\n

There were some positive signs, Ayers noted: Americans\u2019 expectations for growth six months in the future improved, potentially a sign they expect the Iran war to be over by then.<\/p>\n

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Still, Americans\u2019 outlook on the job market worsened slightly. The proportion of respondents who said jobs are \u201cplentiful\u201d dropped to 25.5%, the lowest in three years. At the same time, just 18.6% said jobs were \u201chard to get,\u201d the smallest percentage since October. The findings reflect the \u201clow-hire, low-fire\u201d job market that has made it harder for those out of work to obtain new jobs.<\/p>\n

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Gas prices have soared to a nationwide average of $4.49 a gallon from $2.98 just before the war began at the end of February, and have been at or above $4.50 a gallon for nearly all of May.<\/p>\n

This month, the Conference Board added special questions to its survey, which found rising prices have caused most Americans to change their spending habits. Two-thirds of respondents said they are cutting back spending in response to the increases, with most of those reducing overall purchases and delaying more expensive acquisitions.<\/p>\n

Many consumers are also planning to economize on clothes, shoes, hobby items, and toys and games, the survey found.<\/p>\n

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Inflation\u00a0jumped to 3.8%\u00a0in April, the highest in three years and far above the Federal Reserve\u2019s 2% target. In addition to more expensive gas, grocery prices have also started rising more quickly, likely driven by higher shipping costs. Beef prices have also risen sharply, as drought and other factors have\u00a0reduced cattle herds.<\/p>\n

The higher prices are reducing Americans\u2019 average inflation-adjusted incomes. Average hourly earnings, adjusted for price changes, shrank in April from a year earlier for the first time in three years.<\/p>\n

Other data also suggests consumers have grown more cautious amid rising prices. Adjusted for inflation, retail sales\u00a0actually declined in April, after a solid increase in March.<\/p>\n

And the University of Michigan\u2019s consumer sentiment index fell to a record-low 44.8 in May, its third straight decline, as a majority of respondents said rising prices were hurting their personal finances.<\/p>\n

Read more Aurora VA hospital\u2019s mammogram backlog delayed breast surgeries, inspector general says<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

US consumer confidence declined slightly in May as gas prices stayed high & inflation remained elevated, a contrast to soaring stock prices.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":843,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-844","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nAs US stock market hits new highs, 2 of 3 Americans are cutting back on spending, survey shows - Colorado Springs Moverss<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/coloradospringsmoverss.com\/?p=844\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"As US stock market hits new highs, 2 of 3 Americans are cutting back on spending, survey shows - 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