Americans are feeling better about the economy for the first time in four months

Americans’ attitudes toward the economy improved this month for the first time since January, thanks to better perceptions of the job market.

Americans’ attitudes toward the economy improved this month for the first time since January, thanks to better perceptions of the job market. The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index for this month climbed to a reading of 102, up from 97.5 in April. Americans of all age groups felt better about the economy, the survey noted. That’s after consumer confidence declined in each of the prior three months. “Consumers’ assessment of current business conditions was slightly less positive than last month. However, the strong labor market continued to bolster consumers’ overall assessment of the present situation,” Dana Peterson, chief economist at The Conference Board, said in a release. Compared to the University of Michigan’s consumer survey, the Conference Board survey puts more weight on perceptions of the job market. Unemployment remains below 4%, job openings still exceed the number of unemployed people seeking work and employers are still pumping out jobs at a brisk pace. But elevated inflation still looms large. That’s precisely why consumer confidence declined for three straight months prior to May, when inflation readings came in hotter than expected. The April survey showed that “consumers cited prices, especially for food and groceries, as having the greatest impact on their view of the US economy,” Peterson said. The survey also showed that respondents felt more upbeat about the stock market, with “48.2% expecting stock prices to increase over the year ahead, compared to 25.4% expecting a decrease and 26.4% expecting no change.”