The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday edition that U.S. consumer confidence unexpectedly deteriorated in June as households increasingly worried about job availability, another indication that labour market conditions were softening amid the Trump administration's tariffs. A Reuters dispatch to The Globe says the ebb in confidence reported by the Conference Board on Tuesday was across all age cohorts and nearly all income groups. Consumers remained preoccupied with the import duties and were mostly undecided on big-ticket purchases. There was a decline in the share expecting their incomes to increase, though perceptions of the current financial situation remained solid. The share of consumers viewing jobs as plentiful was the smallest since March, 2021, aligning with the continued elevation in the number of people collecting unemployment checks as well as a moderation in job growth. JPMorgan economist Abiel Reinhart says, "It looks increasingly likely that the unemployment rate will rise to 4.3 per cent in next week's employment report." Though consumers' one-year inflation expectations fell to 6 per cent from 6.4 per cent in May, the share expecting interest rates to rise was the highest since October, 2023.