The consumer confidence index increased to 107.1 in November from a revised 100.8 last month, The Conference Board reported Tuesday.
The October index was originally reported as 98.6.
Economists polled by Thomson Reuters predicted a 101.1 reading for the index.
The present situation index grew to 130.3 from a revised 123.1, first reported as 120.6, while the expectations index gained to 91.7 from a revised 86.0, first reported as 83.9.
"Consumer confidence improved in November after a moderate decline in October, and is once again at pre-recession levels," said Lynn Franco, director of economic indicators for The Conference Board. "A more favorable assessment of current conditions coupled with a more optimistic short-term outlook helped boost confidence. And while the majority of consumers were surveyed before the presidential election, it appears from the small sample of post-election responses that consumers' optimism was not impacted by the outcome. With the holiday season upon us, a more confident consumer should be welcome news for retailers."
Business conditions were called "good" by 29.2% of respondents in November, up from 26.5% of respondents in October. Those saying conditions are "bad" fell to 14.8% from 17.3%.
The percentage of consumers expecting a pickup in business conditions in the next half year slid to 15.3% from 16.4%, while 10.0% said they expect conditions to worsen, off from 11.8% in the prior month.
On the jobs front, those who believe jobs are "plentiful" rose to 26.9% in November from 25.3% in October, while the number saying jobs are "hard to get" remained to 21.7%. The respondents who see fewer jobs becoming available in a half year, dipped to 13.8% from 16.6%. Those expecting more jobs to become available increased to 14.5% from 14.4%, The Conference Board reported.
The consumer confidence survey is based on a probability design random sample by the Nielsen Company.
