U.S. Consumer Confidence rose more than 10% this month, according to the February 2013 Consumer Confidence Index. The index, which is taken by independent research firm The Conference Board each month, indicates that overall confidence rose from 58.4% to 69.6% in February.
Respondents who felt businesses conditions are currently “good” rose to 18.1% in February, from 16.1% in January; conversely, those who felt business conditions were “bad” decreased from 28.4% in January to 27.8% this month. Consumers who felt jobs were currently “plentiful” rose, up to 10.5% from January’s 8.5%, but those who felt jobs were “hard to get” also rose just slightly–from 36.6% in January to 37% in February.
Consumers were more optimistic about the future–those who expected business conditions to improve over the next six months rose from 15.6% in January to 18.9% this month, those who anticipated more job openings in that period rose from 14.4% to 16.7%, and those who expected their incomes to increase rose from 13.5% to 15.7%.
Lynn Franco, The Conference Board’s director of economic indicators, told Women’s Wear Daily that low confidence in January was due to “the shock affect caused by the fiscal cliff uncertainty and payroll tax cuts,” but that in February, that shock “appears to have abated.”