Additional Coverage:
- Even Americans earning over $100,000 a year are starting to lose faith in US economy (marketrealist.com)
High Earners Feeling the Economic Pinch as Consumer Sentiment Shifts
[City, State] – While overall consumer sentiment in the U.S. saw a slight uptick in December, a significant shift is underway: even Americans earning over $100,000 annually are beginning to express concerns about the nation’s economic health. This newfound pessimism among high-income households signals a broader unease that is starting to permeate all economic strata.
According to the University of Michigan’s Surveys of Consumers, the index rose to 54, a modest increase from December’s final reading of 52.9. This preliminary figure surpassed the 53.5 economists polled by LSEG had anticipated. The improvement is attributed to “gradually receding” tariff worries and a steady inflation rate, as reported by Fortune.
However, this positive movement is tempered by a growing lack of confidence in the labor market, a particularly sensitive area for high-income households, noted Surveys of Consumers Director Joanne Hsu. With the job market described as being in a “no-hire, no-fire” state, apprehension is now reaching the country’s upper echelons.
Hsu highlighted that while a general decline in consumer confidence has been observed across the board, preliminary findings from last year indicate a particularly steep drop among high earners. Between January and November 2025, consumer sentiment among the highest third of earners experienced a sharp 32.1% decrease, compared to declines of 29.8% for the lowest tercile and 27.6% for the middle tercile. “While labor market expectations have essentially held steady for lower-income consumers, higher-income consumers have seen quite a bit of deterioration,” Hsu told Fortune, adding that “higher income, higher educated consumers are just showing increased worries about what’s happening in labor markets.”
Historically, high-earning Americans were largely insulated from economic turbulence, particularly during the “K-shaped recovery” where the U.S. stock market hit record highs, generating trillions in profits for the top 10% of households. However, this protective effect appears to be diminishing as the new year unfolds.
Recent data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics further underscores these concerns. In December, nonfarm payrolls increased by a mere 50,000, and U.S. employers added only 584,000 jobs last year, a significant drop from 2 million in 2024.
This marks the weakest annual job growth in a non-recession year since the early 2000s. This weakening labor market is particularly concerning for white-collar workers, who are increasingly grappling with hiring freezes and uncertainty surrounding the development and implementation of Artificial Intelligence.
This anxiety over potential job loss is now clearly reflected in the latest consumer sentiment data, Fortune observed.
Beyond labor market anxieties, year-ahead inflation expectations remained steady at 4.2% in January. While this is the lowest reading since January 2025, it still remains well above the month’s 3.3% inflation expectation, adding another layer of concern for consumers across all income brackets.