The Consumer Confidence Index, as measured by the Conference Board, has risen to its highest level in more than four years. The November index notched a 73.7, up from October's 73.1 and the highest since the widely watched index was at 76.4 in February 2008.
According to Lynn Franco, the Conference Board's director of economicindicators, "Over the past few months, consumers have grown increasingly more upbeat about the current and expected state of the job market, and this turnaround in sentiment is helping to boost confidence."
Consumers' short-term expectations also improved in November, with the outlook for business conditions improving over the next six months, rising to 22.2%, compared to 21.5% in October. The number of consumers who feel jobs were plentiful also rose, up 0.8 percentage points from last month, to 11.2% in November. Those claiming jobs are "hard to get" held steady at 38.8%.
