A monthly measure of consumer confidence has rebounded on more upbeat assessments of business and labor conditions as well as more optimistic expectations.

The Conference Board reported its Consumer Confidence Index rose 9.7 points to 131.4 in February, reversing three months of declines.

“Looking ahead, consumers expect the economy to continue expanding,” said Lynn Franco, senior director of economic indicators at the Conference Board.

Expectations that had been affected by stock market volatility and the partial federal government shutdown improved in February, Franco said.

Still, the pace of the economic expansion is expected to slow in 2019, she said.

The business research and membership group bases the Consumer Confidence Index on monthly household surveys. Economists monitor the index because consumer spending accounts for more than two-thirds of economic activity in the country.

For February, the present situation component of the index rose 3.3 points to 173.5.

The proportion of consumers who responded to the survey upon which the February index was based who described business conditions as “good” increased  4.8 points to 41.2 percent. The share of those who characterized conditions as “bad” held steady at 10.8 percent.

The proportion of consumers who said jobs are “plentiful” slipped six-tenths of a point to 46.1 percent. But the share of those who said jobs are “hard to get” fell more — eight-tenths of a point to 11.8 percent.

The expectations component of the Consumer Confidence Index rose 14 points to 103.4.

The share of consumers who said they expect business conditions to improve over the next six months increased 3.4 points to 19.7 percent. The proportion of those anticipating worsening conditions decreased 4.9 points to 8.9 percent.

The share of consumers who expect more jobs to become available in coming months rose 3.2 points to 18.5 percent. The proportion of those anticipating fewer job openings fell four points to 12.2 percent.

Twenty percent of consumers said they expect their incomes to increase, up 2.3 points. At the same time, 6.8 percent said they anticipate less income, down 1.7 points.