The consumer confidence index increased to 80.7 in January from a revised 77.5 last month, The Conference Board reported Tuesday.
The December index was originally reported as 78.1.
The present situation index rose to 79.1 from a revised 75.3, first reported as 76.2, while the expectations index climbed to 81.8 from a revised 79.0, first reported as 79.4.
Economists polled by Thomson Reuters predicted a 78.1 reading for the index.
"Consumer confidence advanced in January for the second consecutive month," said Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board's Consumer Research Center. "Consumers' assessment of the present situation continues to improve, with both business conditions and the job market rated more favorably. Looking ahead six months, consumers expect the economy and their earnings to improve, but were somewhat mixed regarding the outlook for jobs. All in all, confidence appears to be back on track and rising expectations suggest the economy may pick up some momentum in the months ahead."
Business conditions were called "good" by 21.5% of respondents in January, up from 20.2% in December. Those saying conditions are "bad" slid to 22.8% from 23.2%.
The percentage of consumers expecting a pickup in business conditions in the next half year held at 17.4%, while 12.1% said they expect conditions to worsen, down from 13.9% in the prior month.
On the jobs front, those who believe jobs are "plentiful" climbed to 12.7% in January from 11.9% in December, while the number saying jobs are "hard to get" slid to 32.6% from 32.9%. The respondents who see fewer jobs becoming available in a half year, decreased to 18.3% from 19.4%. Those expecting more jobs to become available fell to 15.4% from 17.1%, The Conference Board reported.
