Consumer confidence edged lower in September ahead of an expected data blackout caused by the looming federal government shutdown, the Conference Board reported Tuesday. The board’s headline confidence index registered a 94.2 reading, off 3.6 points from the August reading and below the Dow Jones estimate for 96.0. The reading was the lowest since April and comes with nonessential government operations slated to close at midnight. In addition to the weakness on the main reading, the “present situation” index hit its lowest in a year. “Consumers’ assessment of business conditions was much less positive than in recent months, while their appraisal of current job availability fell for the ninth straight month to reach a new multiyear low,” said Stephanie Guichard, the organization’s senior economist for global indicators. Though the labor market has shown considerable weakness this year, employment availability in August was slightly better than the prior month. The Bureau of Labor Statistics, in what could be its last data release until the spending impasse on Capitol Hill is resolved, said job openings totaled 7.23 million, up 19,000 from July though down 422,000, or 5.5%, from the same period a year ago. The bureau’s Job Openings and Labor Turnover report, which Federal Reserve officials watch closely to gauge labor market slack, showed a...Read more