The consumer confidence index decreased to 70.4 in November from a revised 72.4 last month, The Conference Board reported Tuesday.
The October index was originally reported as 71.2.
The present situation index fell to 72.0 from a revised 72.6, first reported as 70.7, while the expectations index dropped to 69.3 from a revised 72.2, first reported as 71.5.
Economists polled by Thomson Reuters predicted a 72.6 reading for the index.
"Consumer confidence declined moderately in November after sharply declining in October," said Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board's Consumer Research Center. "Sentiment regarding current conditions was mixed, with consumers saying the job market had strengthened, while economic conditions had slowed. However, these sentiments did not carry over into the short-term outlook. When looking ahead six months, consumers expressed greater concern about future job and earning prospects, but remain neutral about economic conditions. All in all, with such uncertainly prevailing, this could be a challenging holiday season for retailers."
Business conditions were called "good" by 19.9% of respondents in November, up from 19.5% in October. Those saying conditions are "bad" grew to 25.2% from 23.0%.
The percentage of consumers expecting a pickup in business conditions in the next half year gained to 16.6% from 16.0%, while 16.8% said they expect conditions to worsen, down from 17.5% in the prior month.
On the jobs front, those who believe jobs are "plentiful" climbed to 11.8% in November from 11.6% in October, while the number saying jobs are "hard to get" slid to 34.0% from 34.9%. The respondents who see fewer jobs becoming available in a half year, decreased to 21.7% from 22.6%. Those expecting more jobs to become available fell to 12.7% from 16.0%, The Conference Board reported.
