NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. consumer confidence rose in April, driven primarily by increased faith in an employment recovery, a report published on Tuesday said.
The Conference Board, a private research firm, said its index of consumer confidence rose to 92.9 in April from a revised 88.5 in March. Economists surveyed by Reuters had forecast the index to ease to 88.0.
"The job market, which has a major impact on confidence, appears to be gaining strength," said Lynn Franco, director of research at the company's Consumer Research Center. "The percentage of consumers claiming jobs are hard to get is now at its lowest level since November 2002, and more consumers expect this trend to continue."
The number of consumers saying jobs were hard to get fell in April to 27.6 percent from March's revised 29.9 percent.
Consumers' view of the future improved, moving the expectations index to 94.5 from a revised 91.3, while the present situation index climbed to 90.6 from a revised 84.4 in March.
Saturday, May 19th 2012, 8:30pm
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