A measure of consumer confidence increased as more upbeat assessments of business conditions outweighed concerns over the labor market.

The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index advanced 1.4 points between July and August to 103.3. Components tracking current conditions as well as short-term expectations increased.
The New York-based think tank bases the index on the results of monthly household surveys.

Dana Peterson, chief economist at the Conference Board, said consumers continued to express mixed feelings in August. “Compared to July, they were more positive about business conditions, both current and future, but also more concerned about the labor market.”

More upbeat assessments of current conditions pushed up the present situation component of the index 1.3 points to 134.4.

The proportion of consumers responding to the survey upon which the August index was based who called business conditions good rose 1.6 points to 20.8 percent. The share of those who called conditions bad fell a half point to 17.7 percent.

The proportion of consumers who said jobs were plentiful retreated six-tenths of a point to 32.8 percent. The share of those who said jobs were hard to get edged up a tenth of a point to 16.4 percent.

Consumers also were more optimistic in their short-term outlooks, pushing up the expectations component of the index 1.4 points to 82.5. The component has remained above 80 for two months. Readings below 80 usually signal an impending recession.

The share of consumers who expected business conditions to improve over the next six months rose 3.2 points to 18.4 percent. The proportion of those who expected worsening conditions fell six-tenths of a point to 15.6 percent.

The share of consumers who expected more jobs to become available rose nine-tenths of a point to 16.1 percent. The proportion of those anticipating fewer jobs rose more — 1.1 points to 17.5 percent.

While 16.9 percent of consumers expected their incomes to increase, 12.7 percent anticipated decreases.