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The ongoing federal shutdown has resulted in a pause on regular government data releases, meaning economic data has been in short supply of late. That has left market-watchers and monetary policymakers somewhat in the dark over key indicators in the U.S. economy.

Fortunately, the University of Michigan’s Surveys of Consumers is unaffected by the impasse in Washington and released its preliminary monthly report on Oct. 10, 2025; the final read of the month will be released in two weeks.

The Conversation U.S. spoke with Joanne Hsu, the director of the Surveys of Consumers, on what the latest data shows about consumer sentiment – and whether the shutdown has left Americans feeling blue.

What is consumer sentiment?

Consumer sentiment is something that we at the University of Michigan have measured since 1946. It looks at American attitudes toward the current state of the economy and the future direction of the economy through questions on personal finances, business conditions and buying conditions for big-ticket items.

Over the decades, it has been closely followed by policymakers, business leaders, academic researchers and investors as a leading indicator of the overall state of the economy.

When sentiment is on the decline, consumers tend to pull back on spending – and that can lead to a slowdown in the economy. The opposite is also true: High or rising sentiment tends to lead to increased spending and a growing economy.

How is the survey compiled?

Every month, we interview a random sample of the U.S. population across the 48 contiguous states and the District of Columbia. Around 1,000 or so people take part in it every month, and we include a representative sample across ages, income, education level, demography and geography. People from across all walks of life are asked around 50 questions pertaining to the economy, personal finances, job prospects, inflation expectations and the like.

When you aggregate that all together, it gives a useful measure of the health of the U.S. economy.

What does the latest survey show?

The latest survey shows virtually no change in overall sentiment between September and October. Consumers are not feeling that optimistic at the moment, but generally no worse than they were last month.

Pocketbook issues – high prices of goods, inflation and possible weakening in the labor market – are suppressing sentiment. Views of consumers across the country converged earlier in the year when the Trump administration’s tariffs were announced. But since then, higher-wealth and higher-income consumers have reported improved consumer sentiment. It is for lower-income Americans – those not owning stock – that sentiment hasn’t lifted since April.

In October, we also saw a slight decline in inflation expectations, but it remains relatively high – midway between where they were around a year ago and the highs of around the time of the tariff announcements in April and May.

Has the government shutdown affected consumer sentiment?

The government shutdown was in place for around half the time of the latest survey period, which ran from Sept. 23-Oct. 6, 2025. And so far, we are not seeing evidence that it is impacting consumer sentiment one way or another.

And that is not super-surprising. It is not that people don’t care about the shutdown, just that it hasn’t affected how they see the economy and their personal finances yet.

History shows that federal shutdowns do move the needle a little. In 2019, around 10% of people spontaneously mentioned the then-shutdown in the January survey. We saw a decline in sentiment in that month, but it did improve again the following month.

Looking back, we tend to see stronger reaction to shutdowns when there is a debt ceiling crisis attached. In 2013, for example, there was a decline in consumer sentiment coinciding with concerns over the debt ceiling being breached. But it did quickly rebound when the government opened again.

Whether or not we see a decline in sentiment because of the current shutdown depends on how long it lasts – and how consumers believe it will impact pocketbook issues, namely prices and job prospects.

Ghanaians could soon benefit from stronger protections against cybercrime, following a Commonwealth programme that trained more than 60 judges, investigators and prosecutors in Accra this week.

Supported by the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, the programme brought together justice and security agencies for two symposiums from 7-10 October 2025, aimed at strengthening skills and teamwork for a coordinated response to cybercrime. 

Participants, including Nigerian Federal High Court judges, worked through fictional scenarios simulating real-world cybercrime cases to test how existing laws, international agreements and mutual legal assistance apply in practice. 

The sessions also explored common courtroom challenges, such as evaluating the merits of electronic evidence and fostering cross-border cooperation in legal proceedings.

Ghana has one of West Africa’s most vibrant digital economies. However, like elsewhere in the world, this connectivity has also exposed people to new forms of cyber risk. 

Policy, protection and partnership

At one of the symposiums, Lydia Yaako Donkor, Director General of the Criminal Investigation Department at the Ghana Police Service, said the fight against cybercrime depended on “policy, protection and partnership”.

She said: 

“Our policy frameworks must keep pace with technology. We must strengthen our capacity to collect, preserve and present electronic evidence that is admissible in court. No single agency can combat this alone. Collaboration is essential.”

Donkor said a proposal to create specialised cybercrime courts had been sent to the Attorney General’s office, noting that judges’ training would be important to their success.

High Court Judge Justice Patricia Quansah described the training as critical to helping judges better understand the complexity of cybercrime.

She said the sessions gave her practical tools to assess digital evidence in court, including how to detect tampering. 

This knowledge, she added, will help judges respond more confidently to cybercrime cases, ensure justice for victims and hand down punishments that deter future offences.

‘An eye-opener’

Chief Inspector Nancy Paintsil, a prosecutor handling cybercrime cases, called the training “an eye-opener”.

She said:

“The training deepened my understanding of cybercrime, which relies heavily on electronic evidence. I learned how the way we collect, store and maintain the chain of custody determines whether that evidence is admissible and whether we can convict cybercriminals.”

In a pre-recorded message, Commonwealth Secretary-General Hon Shirley Botchwey highlighted the programme’s impact, noting that past symposiums had led to a 50 per cent improvement in Ghanaian judicial officers’ handling of electronic evidence.

She added:

“Now, we extend this achievement to High Court Judges, whose leadership will be vital to sustaining progress. Their work is essential to ensuring that our digital future is safe, secure and inclusive.”

Final line of defence

Supreme Court Justice Tanko Amadu, Director of Ghana’s Judicial Training Institute, said: 

“The judiciary is the final line of defence in the fight against cybercrime. Cases ultimately depend on judges’ ability to fairly and efficiently adjudicate them. 

“Continuous professional development is essential for judicial officers to keep up with technological. We will continue to learn and serve with honour to protect our citizens.”

Hooman Nouruzi of the British High Commission in Accra said the threat of online crime was rapidly evolving, citing INTERPOL data indicating a significant year-on-year rise in cyber-attacks in Africa.

He said:

“It is a stark reminder that our work is far from done… By working together, we can share knowledge, strengthen legal frameworks, and build the capacity needed to investigate, prosecute and prevent cybercrime.”

Members of the public reacted positively to the training. Raphael Boateng, a 20-year-old resident of Nungua in Accra, described it as “a step in the right direction”. 

He said:

“Many innocent people fall victim to online scams. It is good that our judges are being trained. It will help ensure criminals who target others face justice without delay.”

This was the fourth programme on cybercrime and electronic evidence delivered by the Commonwealth Secretariat in Ghana since 2022. 
 

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Media contact

• Snober Abbasi, Senior Communications Officer, Communications Division, Commonwealth Secretariat

• E-mail