"Given consumers' heightened level of anxiety, along with their pessimistic income outlook and lackluster job growth, retailers are very likely to face a challenging back-to-school season."

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Other findings:

• Consumers' assessment of current conditions was more downbeat in July. Those saying conditions are "bad" increased 43.6% from 41.0% in June; however, those saying business conditions are "good" increased to 9.0% from 8.4%.
• Consumers' assessment of the labor market was less favorable. Those claiming jobs are "hard to get" increased to 45.8% from 43.5% in June; those saying jobs are "plentiful" was unchanged at 4.3%.
• Consumers' short-term outlook deteriorated further in July. Those anticipating an improvement in business conditions over the next six months decreased to 14.3% from 16.2% in June; those expecting conditions to worsen grew to 15.7% from 13.
• Consumers were also more pessimistic about future job prospects. Those expecting more jobs in the months ahead decreased to 14.3% from 16.2% in June; those anticipating fewer jobs increased to 21.1% from 20.1%. The proportion of consumers anticipating an increase in their incomes declined to 10.0% from 10.6%.

About the data: The Consumer Confidence Survey is based on a representative sample of 5,000 US households. The monthly survey is conducted for The Conference Board by TNS. The cutoff date for July's preliminary results was July 21.