The Conference Board’s consumer confidence index for the US rose in August to a reading of 101.5 (1985=100), up from a July reading of 91.0, The Conference Board announced today.

“Consumer confidence rebounded in August, following a sharp decline in July,” said Lynn Franco, director of economic indicators at The Conference Board. “Consumers’ assessment of current conditions was considerably more upbeat, primarily due to a more favorable appraisal of the labor market. The uncertainty expressed last month about the short-term outlook has dissipated and consumers are once again feeling optimistic about the near future. Income expectations, however, were little improved.”

Consumers’ outlook for the labor market was considerably more positive. Those stating jobs are “plentiful” increased to 21.9% from 19.9% who said the same in July, and those claiming jobs are “hard to get” fell to 21.9% from 27.4%. Those anticipating more jobs in the months ahead increased to 14.6% from 13.7%, while those anticipating fewer jobs fell sharply to 13.6% from 19.0%.