The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index for the US fell in October following a moderate increase in September, The Conference Board announced today. The index fell to a reading of 97.6 (1985=100), down from a reading of 102.6 in September.

“Consumer confidence declined in October, following September’s modest gain,” said Lynn Franco, director of economic indicators at The Conference Board. “Consumers were less positive in their assessment of present-day conditions, in particular the job market, and were moderately less optimistic about the short-term outlook. Despite the decline, consumers still rate current conditions favorably, but they do not anticipate the economy strengthening much in the near-term.”

Consumers’ outlook for the labor market was slightly less optimistic. Those stating jobs are “plentiful” decreased to 22.2% from 24.8% who said the same in September, and those claiming jobs are “hard to get” edged up to 25.8% from 24.9%. Those anticipating more jobs in the months ahead declined moderately to 14.5% from 14.9%, while those anticipating fewer jobs increased to 16.9% from 15.9%.