American consumers haven’t felt this gloomy since, well, ever. The University of Michigan’s Consumer Sentiment Index dropped to 44.8 in its final May 2026 reading, marking the lowest level since the survey began tracking public economic mood in 1952.
That’s a 10% decline from April’s already-weak 49.8, and a brutal 21% slide from February’s 56.6. The previous all-time low was 50, set in June 2022 during the peak of post-pandemic inflation panic. This reading blew past that floor by a wide margin.
Gas prices and tariffs are doing the heavy lifting
Roughly one-third of survey respondents pointed to high gasoline prices, driven by geopolitical tensions stemming from the Iran conflict, as their primary concern. Another 30% flagged tariffs as a major source of economic anxiety.
Joanne Hsu, director of the Surveys of Consumers at the University of Michigan, confirmed that without stabilizing energy prices, any recovery in consumer sentiment is going to be difficult to achieve.
