WASHINGTON -- With hopes for better job opportunities and higher wages rising, U.S. consumer confidence increased slightly in May, The Conference Board said Tuesday.
The consumer confidence index rose to 83.0 , compared to 81.7 in April and 74.3 a year ago. Consumers' assessments of the current situation and the six-month outlook were both improved.
"Expectations regarding the short-term outlook for the economy, jobs, and personal finances were also more upbeat," said Lynn Franco, director of economic indicators at the board.
"In fact, the percentage of consumers expecting their incomes to grow over the next six months is the highest since December 2007 (20.2%).
"Thus, despite last month's decline, consumers' confidence appears to be growing."
Even so, significantly more survey respondents -- 32.3% -- saw jobs as hard to get, than those who described jobs are plentiful, only 14.1%.
Those who said business conditions were good were 21.1%, while those calling conditions bad were 24.8%.
Copyright Agence France-Presse, 2014
