The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index improved in January after declining in December. The index rose to a reading of 125.4 (1985=100) from 123.1 in December.

“Consumers’ assessment of current conditions decreased slightly, but remains at historically strong levels,” said Lynn Franco, director of economic indicators at The Conference Board. “Expectations improved, though consumers were somewhat ambivalent about their income prospects over the coming months, perhaps the result of some uncertainty regarding the impact of the tax plan. Overall, however, consumers remain quite confident that the solid pace of growth seen in late 2017 will continue into 2018.”

Consumers’ outlook for the job market was also less negative. The proportion expecting more jobs in the months ahead was virtually unchanged at 19.0%, while those anticipating fewer jobs declined to 11.8% from 15.9%. The number of consumers stating that jobs were “plentiful” rose to 37.6% in January from 36.3% in December while those claiming jobs are “hard to get” increased marginally to 16.4% from 16.0%.