NEW YORK, June 29 (UPI) -- The Conference Board of New York said Tuesday consumer confidence in June jumped to its highest level in two years.
The Board said its consumer confidence index, which was virtually unchanged in May, jumped to 101.9 in June, its highest level since June 2002 and up from 93.1 in May.
Wall Street economists had expected the index to inch up to 95 during the month.
The Board said its present situation index climbed to 104.8 from 90.5 in May while its expectations index rose to 100.0 from 94.8 a month earlier.
The survey is based on a representative sample of 5,000 U.S. households.
"The strong improvement in current conditions has propelled Consumer Confidence to levels not seen since June 2002," said Lynn Franco, director of the Conference Board's consumer research center.
"Looking ahead, consumers expect the economy to continue to grow at a healthy clip and to continue to generate additional jobs. And, with prices at the pump beginning to ease, the short-term outlook remains favorable."
The employment outlook remained upbeat as consumers anticipating more jobs to become available increased to 19.7 percent from 18.7 percent. Those expecting fewer jobs edged down to 17.1 percent from 17.3 percent.
The report also showed the proportion of consumers anticipating an increase in their incomes rose to 19.3 percent from 17.1 percent a month ago.
