Consumer confidence unexpectedly rose in May, ending three straight months of declines as Americans cheered a resilient labor market.
The latest index reading from the Conference Board was 102, above 97.5 in April and higher than the 96 economists surveyed by Bloomberg had expected.
“Consumers’ assessment of current business conditions was slightly less positive than last month,” Conference Board chief economist Dana Peterson said in the release. “However, the strong labor market continued to bolster consumers’ overall assessment of the present situation. Views of current labor market conditions improved in May, as fewer respondents said jobs were ‘hard to get.'”
Peterson added, “Fewer consumers expected deterioration in future business conditions, job availability, and income, resulting in an increase in the Expectation Index.”
Josh Schafer | Yahoo Finance