Investing.com - U.S. consumer confidence increased again in August, underlining optimism over the health of the economy, according to a report released on Tuesday.
The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index jumped to 122.9 this month from 120.0 in July. Analysts had forecast a reading of 120.3.
“Consumers’ more buoyant assessment of present-day conditions was the primary driver of the boost in confidence," said Lynn Franco, director of the Conference Board Consumer Research Center.
The present situation index increased to 151.2 from 145.4, while the expectations index ticked up to 104.4 from 103.3 in July.
Consumers’ outlook for the labor market was mixed.
The proportion expecting more jobs in the months ahead declined from 18.5% to 17.1%, while those anticipating fewer jobs decreased marginally from 13.2% to 13.0%.
Regarding their short-term income prospects, the percentage of consumers expecting an improvement increased moderately from 20.0% to 20.9%, while the proportion expecting a decline decreased from 9.5% to 7.8%.
The monthly Consumer Confidence Survey, based on a probability-design random sample, is conducted for The Conference Board by Nielsen, a leading global provider of information and analytics around what consumers buy and watch.