Consumer confidence among older Americans has fallen to its weakest point in years, according to newly compiled Conference Board data. The six-month moving average of the Consumer Confidence Index for Generation X has dropped to roughly 78 points, its lowest reading in at least five years. Baby Boomers aren't far behind, with their six-month average sliding to around 80 points, also the weakest level in at least that long.
The decline marks a notable reversal for Generation X in particular, a cohort now in its peak earning and homeownership years that has historically reported more stable sentiment than younger, less-established generations.
Older Generations Now Trailing Younger Ones
The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Survey, the source behind the widely watched index, has increasingly shown a generational split this year, with confidence holding up better among Gen Z and Millennial respondents while sentiment erodes fastest among the Silent Generation, Baby Boomers, and now Gen X. That's a shift from the historical pattern, in which older, higher-income households with more accumulated assets have tended to weather economic uncertainty with steadier confidence than younger cohorts still building savings and careers.
Related: US Consumer Inflation Expectations Ease to a Multi-Quarter Low
What's Weighing on Sentiment
Coverage of the broader trend has pointed to a mix of pressures hitting Gen X and Boomer households harder than other generations: exposure to a softening job market for higher-tenure workers, concerns about retirement savings amid market volatility, and the practical burden many in these age brackets carry as both caregivers for aging parents and financial supporters of adult children. Those pressures compound differently than the affordability concerns driving weaker sentiment among younger consumers, even as both groups report declining confidence overall.
The data adds to a broader set of signals this year suggesting cracks in consumer sentiment even as headline economic indicators like unemployment have stayed relatively stable. A sustained pullback in confidence among older, higher-spending demographics carries outsized weight for consumer-driven sectors of the economy, since Gen X and Boomer households still account for a disproportionate share of total U.S. consumer spending relative to their population size.
Why Markets Watch This Number
Consumer confidence readings don't move markets the way a jobs report or inflation print does, but sustained declines have historically preceded pullbacks in discretionary spending several months later. With both major older-generation cohorts now reporting their weakest readings in years simultaneously, the data adds another data point for economists debating whether U.S. consumer resilience — a pillar that has repeatedly defied recession calls in recent years — is finally starting to crack at its edges.
