Mimicking a slew of other recent data reports, a reading on consumer confidence Tuesday showed more weakness.

The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index fell to 50.4 in July, down from 54.3 last month, when it plummeted, and its lowest level since February. Further evidence of the nation’s pessimism came in the form of the Conference Board’s expectations index, which fell to 66.6 from last month’s 72.7.

The present situation index dropped to 26.1 from 26.8.

“Concerns about business conditions and the labor market are casting a dark cloud over consumers that is not likely to lift until the job market improves,” said Lynn Franco, the director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center. “Given consumers’ heightened level of anxiety, along with their pessimistic income outlook and lackluster job growth, retailers are very likely to face a challenging back-to-school season.”

The percentage of those surveyed who said conditions are “bad” increased to 43.6 from 41, though those saying business conditions are “good” increased to 9% from 8.4%.

Consumers’ view of the job market was also more negative. Those saying jobs are “hard to get” increased to 45.8% from 43.5%, while those saying jobs are “plentiful” remained unchanged at 4.3%.

The percentage of consumers expecting an improvement in business conditions over the next six months decreased to 15.9% from 17.1%, while those anticipating conditions will worsen rose to 15.7% from 13.9%.