Consumers were less confident in the economy in December as Americans grow anxious about high prices and the impact of President Donald Trump�s sweeping tariffs.

The Conference Board said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index fell 3.8 points to 89.1 in December from November�s upwardly revised reading of 92.9. That is close to 85.7 reading in April, when Trump rolled out his import taxes on U.S. trading partners.

A measure of Americans� short-term expectations for their income, business conditions and the job market remained stable at 70.7, but still well below 80, the marker that can signal a recession ahead. It was the 11th consecutive month that reading has come in under 80.

Consumers� assessments of their current economic situation tumbled 9.5 points to 116.8.

Write-in responses to the survey showed that prices and inflation remained consumers� biggest concern, along with tariffs.

Perceptions of the job market also declined this month.

The conference board�s survey reported that 26.7% of consumers said jobs were �plentiful,� down from 28.2% in November. Also, 20.8% of consumers said jobs were �hard to get,� up from 20.1% last month.

Last week, the government reported that the U.S. economy gained a healthy 64,000 jobs in November but lost 105,000 in October. Notably, the unemployment rate rose to 4.6% last month, the highest since 2021.

The country�s labor market has been stuck in a �low hire, low fire� state, economists say, as businesses stand pat due to uncertainty over Trump�s tariffs and the lingering effects of elevated interest rates. Since March, job creation has fallen to an average 35,000 a month, compared to 71,000 in the year ended in March. Fed Chair Jerome Powell said recently that he suspects those numbers will be revised even lower.

(AP)