A measure of consumer confidence has rebounded to it highest level in eight months on more upbeat assessments of business and labor conditions.

The Conference board reported its Consumer Confidence Index rose 6.9 points to 108.3 in November. The gain reversed two months of declines to reach the highest reading since April.

Measures of current conditions and short-term expectations both increased.

Lynn Franco, senior director of economic indicators at the Conference Board, said consumers were more optimistic about the economy and jobs. Expectations for inflation retreated to their lowest level since September 2021 as gasoline prices declined.

Consumers indicated they were more willing to take vacations, but less likely to purchase homes and appliances, Franco said.

“The shift in consumer preferences from big-ticket items to services will continue in 2023, as will headwinds from inflation and interest rate hikes,” she said.

A think tank based in New York, the Conference Board bases the Consumer Confidence Index on the results of monthly household surveys. Economists monitor the index because consumer spending accounts for more than two-thirds of economic activity.

More upbeat assessments of current conditions pushed up the present situation component of the index 8.9 points to 147.2.

The proportion of consumers responding to the survey upon which the November index was based who described business conditions as “good” rose 1.2 points to 19 percent. The share of those who said conditions were “bad” fell 3.5 points to 20.1 percent.

The proportion of respondents who said jobs were “plentiful” rose 2.6 points to 47.8 percent. The share of those who said jobs were “hard to get” fell 1.7 points to 12 percent.

More optimistic outlooks pushed up the expectations component of the index 5.7 points. But at 82.4, the reading lingered near a level associated with recession.

The share of consumers who said they expected business conditions to improve over the next six months rose six-tenths of a point to 20.4 percent. The proportion of those who said they anticipated worsening conditions fell seven-tenths of a point to 20.3 percent.

The share of those who said they expected more jobs to become available rose a point to 19.5 percent. The proportion of those who forecast fewer jobs fell 2.9 points to 18.3 percent.

While 16.7 percent of consumers responding to the survey said they expected their incomes to increase, 13.3 percent said they expected their incomes to decrease.