Report Says Consumers' Confidence Rose in February

Private research group The Conference Board says its index of consumer confidence increased to 69.6 in February from a revised 58.4 in January, first reported as 58.6. The confidence index is at its highest level since November 2012, according to a post on Nasdaq.com. 

The index gauges consumers' assessments of current economic conditions. 

Do you share in the increased confidence in the country's economic state? Tell us in comments. 

According to the report, Lynn Franco, director of economic indicators at the The Conference Board, said the rebound seemed to reflect consumers recovering from the "shock effect" of the fiscal cliff uncertainty and higher taxes in January.

Additional data from the survey: 

• 10.5 percent of respondents now think jobs are "plentiful," up from 8.5 percent in January
• 37 percent think jobs are "hard to get," up from 36.6 percent last month
• Looking out six months, 16.7 percent of consumers think there will be more jobs, up from 14.4 percent last month
• 21.5 percent think there will be fewer jobs in six months, down from 26.7 percent in January
• 15.7 percent expect their earnings will increase in the next six months, up from 13.5 percent in January
• 19.6 percent expect a cut over the next six months, down from 23.3 percent in January

Tell us what you think about the current state of jobs and what you anticipate the job market will look like in six months in the comments section below. 

Subscribe to Barrow Patch’s newsletters, follow us on Twitter and “like” us on Facebook.