Consumer confidence falls to lowest level since February

September consumer confidence sagged to its lowest levels since February, driven by deteriorating labor market and business conditions, according to a private report released Tuesday.

The Conference Board, an industry group, said its index of consumer attitudes fell to 48.5 in September from a revised 53.2 in August.

“September’s pull-back in confidence was due to less favorable business and labor market conditions, coupled with a more pessimistic short-term outlook,” said Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center.

The median of forecasts from analysts polled by Reuters was for a main September reading of 52.5. Forecasts ranged from 48.0 to 55.0.

The August reading was revised down slightly from an original 53.5.

Consumers’ labor market assessment worsened. The “jobs hard to get” index rose to 46.1 from 45.5, while the “jobs plentiful” index decreased to 3.8 from 4.0.

Separately, a U.S. Business Roundtable survey found the number of CEOs who expect their companies’ sales and U.S. headcount to rise over the six months declined in September.

The group’s CEO Economic Outlook Index declined to 86 from 94.6 in the third quarter, but remained well above the 50 mark, which separates forecasts of growth from expectations of decline.

Inflation expectations eased slightly, even after the Federal Reserve has said it is ready to take action to keep yields down in an effort to stimulate growth. Consumers’ oneyear inflation expectations edged down to 4.9 percent from 5.0 percent the previous month.

The expectations index slipped to 65.4 from 72.0 last month.

The present situation index slipped to 23.1 from 24.9 in August.