Bolstered by a marginal rollback of Trump-era tariffs, U.S. consumer confidence rebounded in May, according to The Conference Board, surging 12.3 points to 98 from a nadir of 85.7 in April – a level unseen since the pandemic's onset – although persistent anxieties regarding income, business climate, and labor market prospects, reflected in a sub-80 short-term expectations index, presage a potential economic downturn, even as the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported a net gain of 177,000 jobs in April, and despite reported intentions to augment expenditures on housing, automobiles, and vacations, tariff and inflationary anxieties continue to dominate survey responses.