NEW YORK (AP) — Consumers' confidence remained weak in September after dropping to a post-recession low during the month before. That's left economists to wonder just what it'll take to get Americans feeling good about the economy again.

A survey of consumer confidence shows that Americans who were worried in August because of a downgrade of U.S. long-term debt, wild stock markets swings and other concerns, continue to be spooked. Economists say the problem is that not much has changed to make consumers feel financially secure. The stock market is still volatile. Worries about the global economy persist. And perhaps worst of all for confidence, U.S. jobs are still scarce.

"We are well below where we should be, and that's because the unemployment situation is so bad," said Paul Dales, senior U.S. economist at Capital Economics. "You have to have a huge fall in the unemployment rate."