The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index, which had decreased in May, increased moderately in June. The Index now stands at 118.9 (1985=100), up from 117.6 in May. The Present Situation Index increased from 140.6 to 146.3, while the Expectations Index declined from 102.3 last month to 100.6.

The monthly Consumer Confidence Survey, based on a probability-design random sample, is conducted for The Conference Board by Nielsen, a leading global provider of information and analytics around what consumers buy and watch. The cutoff date for the preliminary results was June 15.

"Consumer confidence increased moderately in June following a small decline in May," said Lynn Franco, Director of Economic Indicators at The Conference Board. "Consumers' assessment of current conditions improved to a nearly 16-year high (July 2001, 151.3). Expectations for the short-term have eased somewhat, but are still upbeat. Overall, consumers anticipate the economy will continue expanding in the months ahead, but they do not foresee the pace of growth accelerating."   

Consumers' appraisal of current conditions improved in June. Those saying business conditions are "good" increased from 29.8 percent to 30.8 percent, while those saying business conditions are "bad" declined from 13.9 percent to 12.7 percent. Consumers' assessment of the labor market was also more positive. Those stating jobs are "plentiful" rose from 30.0 percent to 32.8 percent, while those claiming jobs are "hard to get" decreased slightly from 18.3 percent to 18.0 percent.

Consumers, however, were less optimistic about the short-term outlook in June. The percentage of consumers expecting business conditions to improve over the next six months decreased from 21.5 percent to 20.4 percent, however, those expecting business conditions to worsen declined marginally from 10.3 percent to 9.9 percent.

Consumers' outlook for the labor market remained mixed. The proportion expecting more jobs in the months ahead increased from 18.6 percent to 19.3 percent, but those anticipating fewer jobs increased from 12.1 percent to 14.6 percent. The percentage of consumers expecting an improvement in their income rose from 19.1 percent to 22.2 percent, but the proportion expecting a decline increased slightly from 8.7 percent to 9.2 percent.