The Conference Board’s August Consumer Confidence survey shows its labor-market differential—calculated as the share of respondents saying jobs are plentiful minus those saying they are hard to get—slipped to 9.7, the lowest reading since the early months of the pandemic. Roughly one in five consumers now report that jobs are hard to obtain, underscoring a steady loss of momentum in hiring after the robust gains logged through 2024. Economists said the deterioration aligns with downbeat signals from private wage trackers, online job-posting sites and employer confidence surveys, suggesting unemployment could rise in coming months. The latest figures extend a summer trend of weakening labor indicators in both the United States and, increasingly, Canada, where claims for employment insurance have begun to climb.