New York - Weighted down by concerns about future consumer spending, the Dow Jones Economic Sentiment Indicator dropped 3.3 points to 43.2 in March. This is indicator's lowest point since September 2010 and its sharpest drop since the autumn of 2008 when the global financial markets were collapsing.

"On its own the decline needn't be that alarming. It's not far off from the average monthly change in the index, which is to say it's not unusual," said Dow Jones Newswires "Money Talks" columnist Alen Mattich. "But it will be worth keeping an especially close eye on what happens to the index over the coming months."

Mattich added: "The biggest worry could be future payrolls, because the ESI tracks U.S. employment closely. If the index continues to decline, the downtrend could suggest slower payroll gains ahead."

The ESI is determined by in-depth sentiment analysis of national news coverage across 15 daily newspapers.

In March, reports on the U.S. economy focused on the negatives of higher gasoline prices and falling home prices, which both cut into household wealth and raised concerns about consumer spending. Coverage of issues around state and local government budgets also dragged down the indicator.

Mitigating the ESI's fall and offering some positive signs for future growth was media coverage of increased dividend payouts and some firming in commercial real estate.