University of Michigan's Index of Consumer Sentiment posted a reading of 67.9 in August, up from July's 66.4; consumers' short and long-run economic outlook improved: University of Michigan

September 3, 2024 (press release) –

Results for August 2024

Read our August 9th report, Do Consumers Hold Divergent Views of their Personal Finances and the Economy?

Next data release: Friday, September 13, 2024 for Inprocess August data at 10am ET
Surveys of Consumers Director Joanne Hsu
Consumer sentiment confirmed its early-month reading; after drifting down for four months, sentiment inched up 1.5 index points above July and is currently 36% above the all-time historic low from June 2022. Consumers’ short- and long-run economic outlook improved, with both figures reaching their most favorable levels since April 2024 and a particularly sizable 10% improvement for long-run expectations that was seen across age and income groups. Sentiment this month reflects a slight rise in sentiment among Independents, as Democrats and Republicans offset each other almost perfectly. Democrats exhibited a large 10% increase in sentiment while Republicans posted an equally sized decline. These patterns resulted from a sea change in election expectations this month with Harris emerging as the Democratic candidate for president. In July, 51% of consumers expected Trump to win the election versus 37% for Biden. In August, election expectations flipped; 36% expected Trump to win compared with 54% for Harris. Economic and election expectations are both subject to change as election day approaches.

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