More consumers say they’re financially worse off than a year ago, new data shows, though they may be getting a tiny bit more comfortable with the idea of quitting their jobs.

The New York Fed’s May Survey of Consumer Expectations found that consumers’ views regarding their financial well-being dwindled last month. The share of households reporting that their current financial circumstances had soured compared to a year ago hit its highest level since January 2023, with 43.7% of consumers saying they were somewhat or much worse off.

“Year-ahead expectations about households’ financial situation also deteriorated, with an increase in the net share of households expecting a worse financial situation,” the New York Fed reported. “The net share of households expecting a better versus worse financial situation in one year is at its lowest level since October 2022.”

Consumers’ expectations for inflation in the year ahead, meanwhile, remained largely flat at 3.5%, decreasing by just 0.1 percentage point from a month earlier, while their expectations for median home price growth increased to the highest reading since July 2022.

Read more: How jobs, inflation, and the Fed are all related

As Yahoo Finance covers the rising cost of living coupled with a challenging job market, we’re looking to hear from real workers about what they earn — and whether it’s enough. Reach out to emma.ockerman@yahooinc.com to share your story.

Despite signs of uneasiness about the economy, the same survey also found that workers’ likelihood of voluntarily leaving their jobs in the coming year increased to 20.8% last month — the highest level since February 2023. That matters because workers’ willingness to jump ship is broadly seen as a barometer of their confidence in the labor market.

Still, “labor market expectations deteriorated somewhat with an increase in layoff expectations and a decline in job finding expectations,” the New York Fed said.

Right now, workers’ actual rate of quitting, at 1.9%, is also quite depressed. After all, it was only in February that the New York Fed reported that workers’ probability of quitting hit a record low in data going back to 2013.

While the New York Fed’s survey found that consumers’ expectations for higher unemployment in the year ahead decreased slightly in May, their perceived probability of losing their job ticked up. Workers’ perceived probability of finding a role if they became unemployed also decreased to its worst level since December 2025.