US consumer unemployment expectations hit 44.4% in August, the highest since April 2020, signaling rising economic anxiety and potential headwinds for risk assets.
Macro & Markets ·
US consumer expectations for higher unemployment in one year reached 44.4% in August, up 1.6 percentage points and marking the highest level since April 2020, according to the New York Fed Survey of Consumer Expectations. Among higher earners making over $100,000 annually, the expectation climbed to 50.3%, the second-highest reading in the survey's history since 2013. Those earning between $50,000 and $100,000 reported 43.5% unemployment expectations, while lower-income earners at under $50,000 saw 38.0%, indicating broad-based anxiety about labor market conditions.