NEW YORK — Americans’ confidence in the economy grew in April as fears about the job market eased, outweighing the pain from rising prices at the gas pump.
The increase comes after an unexpected drop in March. But the measure had risen for five consecutive months before that to hit a three-year high in February.
The Conference Board said Tuesday that the index rose to 65.4 from a revised 63.8 in March. Economists expected a smaller rise to 64.8, according to FactSet.
The index is still far from the reading of 90 that indicates a healthy economy. It hasn’t approached that level since the recession began in December 2007; the recession officially ended in June 2009.
Still, the index’s 40-point increase since its all-time low of 25.3 in February 2009 reflects how far the economy has come.
“Consumer’s short-term outlook improved slightly, suggesting that the uncertainty expressed last month is easing,” said Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center.
Consumer confidence can remain in the doldrums long after a recession ends. For example, the recession of the early 1990s ended in March 1991, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research, but consumer confidence didn’t rise above 90 until three years later. The Associated Press
