May Consumer Confidence Rises, Conference Board Reports

he Conference Board said Tuesday its index of U.S. consumer confidence rose in May to 102.2, rebounding from April's decline to 97.5.

The rise reversed three straight declines and was above the 96.1 level analysts had expected, Bloomberg reported. April had been previously reported at 97.7.

The consumer confidence index is a predictor of consumer spending. When people are feeling less confident about the economy, they are less likely to spend money, which decreases demand for trucking services.

The proportion of consumers who saw jobs as plentiful rose to 22.6, from 20.4 in April. The level of those saying jobs were hard to get also increased, to 24.2 in May from 22.9 last month.

Consumers’ outlook for the next six months, which had been losing ground since January, reversed course in May. Those anticipating business conditions to improve increased to 18.6% from 17.7%, while those expecting them to worsen fell to 9.5% from 9.9%.

The Conference Board surveys 5,000 households on general economic conditions, their employment prospects and spending plans.