JUST IN: 67% of US consumers now expect higher unemployment over the next 12 months, the highest since 2008.
This percentage has more than doubled over the last 5 months.
Currently, more Americans anticipate higher unemployment than during the 1981-82, 1990-1991, and 2001 recessions.
In previous economic cycles, such a significant surge in pessimistic outlook has preceded a spike in the unemployment rate.
Consumers have rarely been this pessimistic about the labor market.