Conference Board Says Consumer Confidence Rises in April

U.S. consumer confidence grew in April as job growth bolsters sentiment about the current state of the economy, a private economic group said Tuesday.

The New York-based Conference Board said its consumer confidence index rose to 92.9 in April from 88.5 the previous month.

Also on Tuesday, an industry report said sales of existing homes rose 5.7% in March to an annual pace of 6.48 million.

An economist with the group said that a stronger job market was the main force behind the increase.

“Jobs are the key because you have to pay the bills,” Delos Smith told Bloomberg News. “When non-farm payrolls rise by 308,000 in a month, it’s going to help consumer confidence.”

The board said one of its contributing indexes, which measure optimism about the current state of the economy rose to 90.6 – it’s highest since August 2002.

The Conference Board surveys 5,000 households about general economic conditions. Economists monitor the survey for clues about future consumer spending and the direction of the economy.