Expectations Weakened
The Conference Board's data showed a measure of present conditions decreased to an 11-month low of 26.3 from 33.3. The measure of expectations for the next six months slumped to 48.7, the lowest since March 2009, from 55.1.
The share of consumers who said jobs were plentiful fell to 3.4 percent, the lowest since December 2009, from 5.6 percent. Confidence dropped in six of nine U.S. regions, according to today's report.
The percent of respondents in the Conference Board survey expecting more jobs to become available in the next six months dropped to 11.3 from 11.9 the previous month.
The proportion expecting their incomes to rise over the next six months decreased to 10.3 percent, the weakest since October 2010, from 13.5 percent.
The report also showed that 53.4 percent expect stocks to decline in the next year, the most since October 2008.
Holiday Sales
Levi Strauss is bracing for tepid sales this holiday season after back-to-school shoppers in the U.S. balked at higher prices on its namesake jeans and Dockers pants.
"It is hard to imagine a very robust holiday season compared to last year," Chief Financial Officer Blake Jorgensen said in a telephone interview Oct. 11 from San Francisco, where closely held Levi is based. "We remain cautious around where the future is going over the next couple of quarters."
Stagnant labor and housing markets are weighing on Americans' outlooks. Home prices continue to fall more than two years into the recovery while joblessness has held close to or above 9 percent for 30 months.