The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index increased in July after a marginal decline in June. The index rose to a reading of 121.1 (1985=100), up from 117.3 in June.

“Consumer confidence increased in July following a marginal decline in June,” said Lynn Franco, director of economic indicators at The Conference Board. “Consumers’ assessment of current conditions remained at a 16-year high (July 2001, 151.3) and their expectations for the short-term outlook improved somewhat after cooling last month. Overall, consumers foresee the current economic expansion continuing well into the second half of this year.”

Consumers’ assessment of the labor market was more favorable and their outlook improved. The proportion expecting more jobs in the months ahead was unchanged at 19.2% in July and those anticipating fewer jobs decreased to 13.3% from 14.6%. The number of consumers stating that jobs were “plentiful” rose to 34.1% in July from 32.0% in June while those claiming jobs are “hard to get” edged down to 18.0% from 18.4%.

However, consumers were not as upbeat about their income prospects as in June. The percentage of consumers expecting their incomes to increase declined moderately to 20.0% from 20.9% while the proportion expecting a decrease increased to 10.0% from 9.3%.