Prior was 91.8 The April 2026 release, with a survey cutoff of April 22, came in noticeably stronger than expected.
Prior was 91.8 The April 2026 release, with a survey cutoff of April 22, came in noticeably stronger than expected. The headline index rose to 92.8, up from 91.8 in March and well ahead of consensus near 89.0 — extending a modest run of monthly gains and setting a new high for the year so far.
The internal detail was mixed. Consumers’ views of current business conditions softened: 22.0% called conditions “good” (up from 21.7%), but 17.9% called them “bad” (up from 15.8%). The labor market component improved, however, with 27.3% saying jobs were “plentiful” (vs. 27.4% in March) and the share saying jobs were “hard to get” falling to 19.8% from 21.3%.
Forward-looking measures were also crosscurrents. Consumers were a touch more pessimistic about future business conditions, with 23.6% expecting them to worsen (up from 21.4%). But the labor market outlook brightened — 16.1% expected more jobs ahead (up from 15.4%), and fewer expected job losses.