Economic reports released this week show a big gap between the performance of the economy and how everyday people feel about it.

September’s retail sales numbers were delayed from government shutdown. They showed sales climbed 0.2%, which is the fourth straight month of increases.

But overall measures of consumer confidence saw a sharp decline, hitting their lowest level since the White House's tariff announcements in April. A survey in October also highlighted growing pessimism about job availability and income opportunities in the next six months.

The Producer Price Index, which tracks prices business pay to make goods, ticked up 0.3% in September, a bigger jump than the month prior. When companies face higher prices, that trickles down to consumers.

And the National Association of R

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