The Conference Board's consumer confidence index continued to improve in February, rising to 70.4 (1985=100) from January's reading of 64.8.

"The Consumer Confidence Index is now at a three-year high (Feb. 2008, 76.4), due to growing optimism about the short-term future," said Lynn Franco, director of consumer research at The Conference Board. "Consumers' assessment of current business and labor market conditions has improved moderately, but still remains rather weak. Looking ahead, consumers are more positive about the economy and their income prospects, but feel somewhat mixed about employment conditions."

Consumers saying jobs are "plentiful" rose to 4.9 percent from 4.6 percent in January. Those saying jobs are "hard to get" fell to 45.7 percent in February from 47.0 percent in January

The consumer confidence index is based on a survey that includes a sample of 5,000 U.S. households.