The Economy: Data vs Sentiment

About this episode

The episode discusses the disparity between economic data and consumer sentiment, exploring various factors influencing public perception.

Human behavior and feeling is not always driven by numbers and data. This is especially true when we think about consumer sentiment compared to the economy we review in numbers and charts. In this episode of Financial Clarity for Doctors, hosts Corey Janoff and Rachelle Vanderzanden discuss current economic sentiment, current economic conditions, and why those two things seem to be harder and harder to reconcile. How are we feeling and what do the numbers show? A University of Michigan survey earlier this year showed that consumer sentiment is at its lowest point since 1978 (strong employment, but high inflation and a weak dollar). Reasons include fears of new technology (will AI take our jobs?), interest rates/federal reserve, lingering effects of inflation, geopolitical conflict, and domestic political differences. BUT: Unemployment is ~4.3% - low historically, but higher than a couple years ago. But job addition numbers are low. S&P 500 is at an all-time high as of mid-April 2026. Almost two thirds of people are investing in stocks. Inflation is about 3%. Very close to average, but we are still feeling the lingering effects of the last couple years. Wages have grown faster…

People in this episode

Hosts: Corey Janoff, Rachelle Vanderzanden

Topics covered

• economic sentiment
• consumer behavior
• inflation
• employment
• stock market
• geopolitical conflict

Keywords

• economy
• consumer sentiment
• inflation
• employment
• S&P 500
• job market
• geopolitical conflict

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: University of Michigan

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