Last week, initial claims for umemployment benefits came in slightly below forecast.

Last year's "One Big Beautiful Bill" and federal immigration policies are mostly to blame for the increased deficit.

"Spending has remained resilient. That makes us think the decline in confidence is overdone and will rebound soon."

The 200,000 initial jobless claims suggest employers are still in a pattern of limited layoffs.

Consumers remain troubled by a stubbornly high cost of living, which has been a major drag on sentiment this year, but recent holiday shopping data points to resilient consumer demand.

All active data collection activities at the BLS are paused until the U.S. government shutdown ends.

A separate release out today showed U.S. consumer confidence fell in September to a five-month low on concerns about cooling in the labor market and the broader economy.

In August, hiring at U.S. companies was lower than forecast, consistent with other evidence that points to weaker demand for workers.