U.S. consumer confidence fell steeply in June after rising for three months, due to worries about the labor market because of a recent slowdown in jobs growth, according to a private sector report released Tuesday. The Conference Board, an industry group, said its index of consumer attitudes fell to 52.9 in June from a downwardly revised 62.7 in May.
The June figure was sharply below the median of forecasts from analysts polled by Reuters, which was for a reading of 62.8 with forecasts ranging from 59.5 to 65.5.

The May reading was revised down from an original 63.3.

The expectations index fell to 71.2 from 84.6 in May. The present situation index fell to 25.5 from 29.8 in May.

Consumers’ assessment of the labor market worsened.

The “jobs hard to get” index rose to 44.8 from 43.9, while the “jobs plentiful” index slipped to 4.3 from 4.6 in May.