The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index fell slightly in April following a decrease in March. The index now stands at 69.2 (1985=100), down from 69.5 in March.

“Consumer confidence was virtually unchanged in April, following a modest decline in March,” said Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board consumer research center. “As was the case last month, the slight dip was prompted by a moderation in consumers’ short-term outlook, while their assessment of current conditions continued to improve. Overall, consumers are more upbeat about the state of the economy, but they remain cautiously optimistic.”

According to the index’s survey, consumers claiming jobs are “plentiful” was 8.4 percent in April compared to 9.0 percent in the previous month’s survey. The percentage of consumers saying jobs are “hard to get” was 37.5 percent in April compared to 40.7 percent in March.