The consumer confidence index gained to 83.0 in May from a revised 81.7 last month, The Conference Board reported Tuesday.
The April index was originally reported as 82.3.
The present situation index rose to 80.4 from a revised 78.5, first reported as 78.3, while the expectations index grew to 84.8 from a revised 83.9, first reported as 84.9.
Economists polled by Thomson Reuters predicted an 83.0 reading for the index.
"Consumer confidence improved slightly in May, as consumers assessed current conditions, in particular the labor market, more favorably," said Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board's Consumer Research Center. "Expectations regarding the short-term outlook for the economy, jobs, and personal finances were also more upbeat. In fact, the percentage of consumers expecting their incomes to grow over the next six months is the highest since December 2007 (20.2 percent). Thus, despite last month's decline, consumers' confidence appears to be growing."
Business conditions were called "good" by 21.1% of respondents in May, off from 22.2% in April. Those saying conditions are "bad" slid to 24.1% from 24.8%.
The percentage of consumers expecting a pickup in business conditions in the next half year rose to 17.5% from 17.2%, while 10.2% said they expect conditions to worsen, down from 10.5% in the prior month.
On the jobs front, those who believe jobs are "plentiful" climbed to 14.1% in May from 13.0% in April, while the number saying jobs are "hard to get" fell to 32.3% from 32.8%. The respondents who see fewer jobs becoming available in a half year, increased to 18.3% from 18.0%. Those expecting more jobs to become available rose to 15.4% from 14.7%, The Conference Board reported.
The consumer confidence survey is based on a probability design random sample by the Nielsen Company.
