Consumer Confidence Jumps for 2nd Consecutive Month

-- Home Textiles Today, 5/10/2010 12:00:00 AM

New York —

The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index jumped 5% in April after making a solid push forward in March.

The index now stands at 57.9 (1985=100) — the highest rating in 18 months — up from 52.3 a month earlier.

In addition, the Expectations Index rose to 77.4 from 70.4 while the Present Situation Index improved to 28.6 from 25.2.

“Consumers' concerns about current business and labor market conditions eased again. And, their outlook regarding business conditions and the labor market was also more positive than [in March],” said Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center. “Looking ahead, continued job growth will be key in sustaining positive momentum.”

Consumers who said conditions are “good” increased to 9.1% from 8.5%. Those who believe business conditions are “bad” fell to 40.2% from 42.1%.

While consumers' views of the job market improved, they're still more pessimistic than optimistic. Those saying jobs are “plentiful” increased to 4.8% from 4.0%, and those saying jobs are “hard to get” edged down to 45.0% from 46.3%.