September 27, 2025 – On Friday, the University of Michigan released Final Results on Consumer Sentiment for September 2025. The following is from Surveys of Consumers Director Joanne Hsu:

Consumer sentiment confirmed its early-month reading and eased about 5% from last month but remains above the low readings seen in April and May of this year.

Although September’s decline was relatively modest, it was still seen across a broad swath of the population, across groups by age, income, and education, and all five index components.

A key exception: sentiment for consumers with larger stock holdings held steady in September, while for those with smaller or no holdings, sentiment decreased.

This month, sentiment moved down about 9% for independents and 4% for Republicans, whereas it lifted this month for Democrats.

Nationally, not only did macroeconomic expectations fall, particularly for labor markets and business conditions, but personal expectations did as well, with a softening outlook for their own incomes and personal finances.

Consumers continue to express frustration over the persistence of high prices, with 44% spontaneously mentioning that high prices are eroding their personal finances, the highest reading in a year.

Interviews this month highlight the fact that consumers feel pressure both from the prospect of higher inflation as well as the risk of weaker labor markets.

Year-ahead inflation expectations receded slightly to 4.7% from 4.8% last month. Long-run inflation expectations moved up for the second straight month to 3.7% in September, but stand much lower than the 4.4% spike seen in April.



Source: University of Michigan