The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index for the US fell in February following a moderate increase in January, The Conference Board announced today. The index fell to a reading of 92.2 (1985=100), down from a reading of 97.8 in January.

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

“Consumer confidence decreased in February, after posting a modest gain in January,” said Lynn Franco, director of economic indicators at The Conference Board. “Consumers’ assessment of current conditions weakened, primarily due to a less favorable assessment of business conditions. Consumers’ short-term outlook grew more pessimistic, with consumers expressing greater apprehension about business conditions, their personal financial situation, and to a lesser degree, labor market prospects. Continued turmoil in the financial markets may be rattling consumers, but their assessment of current conditions suggests the economy will continue to expand at a moderate pace in the near-term.”

Those stating jobs are “plentiful” decreased to 22.1% from 23.0% who said the same in January, and those claiming jobs are “hard to get” increased to 24.2% from 23.6%. Those anticipating more jobs in the months ahead fell to 12.2% from 13.4% in January, while those anticipating fewer jobs edged up to 17.2% from 17.0% in January.