The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index® now stands at 81.4%, up from 74.3 percent in May, reaching the highest level it has been since January of 2008.

“Consumers are considerably more positive about current business and labor market conditions than they were at the beginning of the year,” said Lynn Franco, director of economic indicators at The Conference Board. “Expectations have also improved considerably over the past several months, suggesting that the pace of growth is unlikely to slow in the short-term, and may even moderately pick up.”

Consumers’ assessment of current conditions continued to improve last month. Those stating business conditions are “good” held steady at 19.1%, while those saying business conditions are “bad” decreased to 24.9% from 26.0%.

Consumers’ appraisal of the job market was also more positive. Those claiming jobs are “plentiful” increased to 11.7% from 9.9%, while those claiming jobs are “hard to get” edged up to 36.9% from 36.4%.

Consumers’ expectations regarding the short-term outlook improved again in June. Those expecting business conditions to be better over the next six months increased to 20.3% from 18.7%, while those expecting business conditions to worsen decreased to 11.4%from 12.2%

Consumers’ outlook for the labor market was also more optimistic. Those anticipating more jobs in the months ahead improved to 19.6% from 16.3%, while those anticipating fewer jobs decreased to 16.1% from 20.0%.

The proportion of consumers expecting their incomes to increase dipped slightly to 15.2% from 15.6%, while those expecting a decrease declined to 14.4% from 15.3%.

The monthly Consumer Confidence Survey® is based on a probability-design random sample, and is conducted for The Conference Board by Nielsen. The Conference Board is a global, independent business membership and research association working in the public interest.