US households are becoming more pessimistic about their finances: Only 26.4% of American households expect their financial situation to improve over the next year, the lowest since August 2023. This percentage also matches May 2025 levels following Trump's Liberation Day. By comparison, this figure was ~10 percentage points higher in January, at 36.6%. To put this into perspective, the pre-pandemic average in 2017–2019 was ~42.0%. Last month, just 17.6% of consumers said they feel better off financially, the 2nd-lowest reading since December 2022. Consumer sentiment is weak.