US Consumer Confidence Hits 2-Year High

By Kerry Sheridan

The U.S. Consumer Confidence Index has hit a two-year high, according to a New York-based business research group. The findings signal an improved outlook for more jobs and an upswing in the U.S. economy.

According to the Conference Board, consumer confidence rose for the fourth-straight month, reaching its highest point since June of 2002.

The director of research at the Conference Board, Lynn Franco, says consumers are optimistic about their financial future.

"They are telling us that they expect the labor¹ market to continue to add jobs and they expect the economy to continue growing, and these two factors are boosting confidence," she said.

The Consumer Confidence Index rose more than three points, from 102.8 in June to 106.1 in July, and the Expectations Index climbed five points.

According to the most recent figures from the Department of Labor, unemployment has remained steady at five-point-six-percent since the official end of the recession in November 2001. Since April of this year, an average of 300-thousand new jobs have been created each month.

Ms. Franco says it is probably those jobs, and not the prospect² of the coming November presidential elections that are driving confidence higher.

"Right now it is not really being driven by the election at all. It is really being driven by the economy and by the labor market," she said. "In fact, we saw signs in the summer of 2003 that labor market conditions were taking a turn for the better. But not until recently when we have had strong gains have those gains materialized into strong gains in confidence."

The Consumer Confidence survey is based on a sample of 5,000 U.S. households.

注释：
index 指数
signal 发信号
outlook 前景
upswing 高涨
optimistic 乐观的
boost 推进
household 家庭

1 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

2 prospect   

n.前景，前途；景色，视野

参考例句：

• This state of things holds out a cheerful prospect.事态呈现出可喜的前景。
• The prospect became more evident.前景变得更加明朗了。