Consumer confidence plunges to lowest level in more than a decade

U.S. consumer confidence slumped to the lowest level since 2014 in January, sinking below pandemic-era lows as Americans are concerned about the labor market.

The Conference Board released its preliminary consumer confidence reading for January, which showed it declined by 9.7 points to 84.5, from an upwardly revised reading of 94.2 in December. That December revision flipped the initially reported decline to a slight increase, though the January data showed confidence resumed its decline.