U.S. Consumer Comfort Sinks for Seventh Week on Finances Views

(Bloomberg) -- Americans’ confidence fell for a seventh straight week as a gauge of sentiment about their finances dropped the most since 2012, a sign of rapidly deteriorating financial stress amid mounting layoffs due to the coronavirus.

The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index fell 2.6 points to 36.9 in the week ended May 3, the lowest since October 2014, according to the survey released Thursday. The gauge of personal finances slumped 3.6 points, while measures of views about the economy and buying climate dropped to their weakest levels since 2014.

The overall consumer comfort reading is more than 30 points below its 20-year high reached at the end of January and is now just 13.9 points from its record low of 23 during the last recession. The health crisis has led to business closures, millions of layoffs and reduced worker hours, putting household finances in a precarious position.

Government data on Friday are projected to show the economy lost more than 21 million jobs in April and the unemployment rate climbed to 16% from 4.4% a month earlier. A report last week showed the economy shrank at a 4.8% annualized pace in the first quarter, the worst performance since 2008 and the first contraction since 2014.

The comfort subindex of the economy fell 1.6 points to 25.7, while the measure of the buying climate declined 2.6 points to 31.1.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.