The consumer confidence index increased to 82.3 in March from a revised 78.3 last month, The Conference Board reported Tuesday.
The February index was originally reported as 78.1.
The present situation index slid to 80.4 from a revised 81.0, first reported as 81.7, while the expectations index grew to 83.5 from a revised 76.5, first reported as 75.7.
Economists polled by Thomson Reuters predicted a 78.6 reading for the index.
"Consumer confidence improved in March, as expectations for the short-term outlook bounced back from February's decline," said Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board's Consumer Research Center. While consumers were moderately more upbeat about future job prospects and the overall economy, they were less optimistic about income growth. The Present Situation index, which had been on an upward trend for the past four months, was relatively unchanged in March. Overall, consumers expect the economy to continue improving and believe it may even pick up a little steam in the months ahead."
Business conditions were called "good" by 22.9% of respondents in March, up from 21.2% in February. Those saying conditions are "bad" grew to 23.2% from 22.0%.
The percentage of consumers expecting a pickup in business conditions in the next half year rose to 18.1% from 17.3%, while 10.2% said they expect conditions to worsen, down from 13.6% in the prior month.
On the jobs front, those who believe jobs are "plentiful" dipped to 13.1% in March from 13.4% in February, while the number saying jobs are "hard to get" grew to 33.0% from 32.4%. The respondents who see fewer jobs becoming available in a half year, decreased to 18.0% from 20.9%. Those expecting more jobs to become available rose to 13.9% from 13.7%, The Conference Board reported.
The consumer confidence survey is based on a probability design random sample by the Nielsen Company.
