what signals an upcoming depression 
if it all starts with the consumer the number to keep an eye on is the consumer confidence index published by the confidence board one of the numbers considered to be a key economic indicator of the health of the u s economy the latest updates to the index are published on the last tuesday of every month 14the survey used to compile the index delves into the reasons behind consumer confidence or lack of it its present situation index which assesses views on current business and labor market conditions increased slightly its expectations index based on consumers short term outlook fell a bit for instance it s important to note that this shows the potential for a recession not a depression the number would have to indicate a catastrophic loss in consumer confidence to cause anyone to use the d word and even then monetary policymakers and fiscal policymakers would be scrambling to use the tools at their disposal to prop up those numbers so where does confidence stand after january 2023 the index dropped to 100 4 in june 2024 the present situation index stood at 141 5 while the expectations index still sits below the threshold of 80 with a value of 73 0 16