U.S. consumer confidence rises in December, beats expectations

U.S. consumers became more confident about economic conditions in December after turning more pessimistic just the month before. The change in outlook was driven primarily by a more positive assessment of the job market.

The U.S. consumer confidence index, as measured by The Conference Board, rose to 96.5 this month from a revised 92.6 in December. Economists had expected a reading of nearly 94 in December, according to media surveys.

“Consumer confidence improved in December, following a moderate decrease in November,” Lynn Franco, director of economic indicators at The Conference Board, said in a news release. “As 2015 draws to a close, consumers’ assessment of the current state of the economy remains positive, particularly their assessment of the job market. Looking ahead to 2016, consumers are expecting little change in both business conditions and the labor market. Expectations regarding their financial outlook are mixed, but the optimists continue to outweigh the pessimists.”

The segment of consumers saying jobs are “plentiful” increased from 21 percent in November to 24.1 percent in December, while those claiming jobs are “hard to get” fell to 24.7 percent this month from 25.8 percent last month, according to the release.

The Conference Board is a nonprofit business membership and research organization based in New York City that publishes economic indicators such as the U.S. consumer confidence index, leading economic indicators, CEO confidence survey, and an employment trends index.

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