The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index for the US fell in April following an increase in March, The Conference Board announced today. The index declined moderately to a reading of 94.2 (1985=100), down from a reading of 96.1 in March.

Consumers’ outlook for the labor market was also less favorable.

“Consumer confidence continued on its sideways path, posting a slight decline in April, following a modest gain in March,” said Lynn Franco, director of economic indicators at The Conference Board. “Consumers’ assessment of current conditions improved, suggesting no slowing in economic growth. However, their expectations regarding the short-term have moderated, suggesting they do not foresee any pickup in momentum.”

Those stating jobs are “plentiful” decreased to 24.1% from 25.4% who said the same in March; however, those claiming jobs are “hard to get” also decreased to 22.7% from 25.2%. Those anticipating more jobs in the months ahead edged down to 12.2% from 13.0% in March, while those anticipating fewer jobs edged rose to 17.2% from 16.3% in March.