NEW YORK, New Brunswick, July 27 (UPI) -- U.S. consumers' view of the economy rose to its highest reading in more than two years in July, a private research group said Tuesday.
The Conference Board of New York said its index of consumer confidence in July rose to 106.1 from 102.8 in June, the best reading since June 2002.
Wall Street economists had expected a reading of 102.2.
Gains over recent months in confidence have come from improved hiring, said Conference Board economist Lynn Franco.
The group's present situation index, a gauge of consumers' assessment of current economic conditions, increased to 106.5, from 105.9 in June.
Consumers' economic expectations for the next six months improved by a strong margin, with that reading standing at 105.8, compared with 100.8 in June.
The U.S. economy saw the pace of hiring slow last month compared to prior months, which was reflected in the Conference Board's report. Respondents who deem economic current conditions "bad" made up 19.1 percent of those surveyed in July, up from 17.4 percent in June. Those who called current economic conditions "good" edged up to 25.6 percent in July, from 25.8 percent in June.
