Survey indicates consumer confidence up

NEW YORK, Aug. 26 (UPI) -- U.S.consumer confidence improved in August with expectations far ahead of the "present situation" index, the Conference Board reported Tuesday.

The August index, improving on the July report, now has a 56.9 percent favorable score, up from 51.9 in July, the Consumer Confidence Survey indicated.

The present situation index decreased to 63.2 from 65.8 last month. The expectations index, however, increased to 52.8 percent from 42.7 in July.

The Consumer Confidence Survey is based on a representative sample of 5,000 U.S. households. The monthly survey is conducted for The Conference Board by TNS, the custom research company.

"Consumer confidence readings suggest that the economy remains stuck in neutral, but may be showing signs of improvement by early next year," Lynn Franco, director of the Conference Board Consumer Research Center, said.

´"Declines in the present situation index, both in terms of business conditions and the labor market, appear to be moderating. The expectations index, which posted a significant gain this month, suggests better times may be ahead."

Consumers' appraisal of the labor market has turned bleaker. Those saying jobs are "hard to get" rose to 32 percent from 30.2 percent in July, while those claiming jobs are "plentiful" declined to 13.1 percent from 13.6 percent.