NEW YORK, May 30 (Xinhua) -- The Consumer Sentiment Index released Friday by the University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers was 52.2 in May 2025, unchanged from 52.2 in April and below last May's 69.1.
The sentiment had ebbed through mid-May but turned a corner in the latter half of the month following U.S. temporary pause on some tariffs on China goods, ending four consecutive months of declines.
Meanwhile, the Current Index fell to 58.9, down from 59.8 in April and below last May's 69.6. The Expectations Index rose to 47.9, up from 47.3 in April and below last May's 68.8.
About 64 percent of consumers expect business conditions to worsen in the year ahead, unchanged from April but up from 29 percent six months ago. The share of consumers expecting unemployment to rise has been hovering around two-thirds for three straight months, up from less than one-third in November 2024.
A growing share of consumers is reporting that their incomes are stagnating. Less than half of consumers expect their own incomes to grow in the year ahead, down from nearly 60 percent half a year ago.
Consumers remain frustrated by the persistence of high prices, with 38 percent saying their personal finances have been eroded by those high prices, down from 44 percent in November 2024 but still the top-cited factor.
About 68 percent of consumers expect that the purchasing power of their incomes will be eroded over the next year, up from 57 percent in November 2024.
"Given that consumers generally expect tariffs to pass through to consumer prices, it is no surprise that trade policy has influenced consumers' views of the economy," said economist Joanne Hsu, director of UM's Survey of Consumers. "In the second half of the month, sentiment lifted and inflation expectations eased in the wake of the May 12 pause on some tariffs on goods from China. With continued policy uncertainty, however, consumers continue to expect an economic slowdown to come."
Overall, consumers see the outlook for the economy as no worse than last month, but they remain quite worried about the future, Hsu said.
The Surveys of Consumers is a rotating panel survey based on a nationally representative sample that gives each household in the coterminous United States an equal probability of being selected. Interviews are conducted throughout the month by telephone. ■
