Concerns about business and job market conditions continued to ease, said Conference Board director Lynn Franco in a statement. She added that "continued job growth" will really be the key to keeping the momentum going.
Despite April's increase, the index still remains at historically low levels. An overall reading above 90 indicates the economy is solid, and 100 or above indicates strong growth.
The report is based on a survey mailed to a representative sample of 5,000 U.S. households.
Job market outlook: The percentage of respondents expecting more jobs in the next six months rose to 18% in April from 14.1% in the prior month.
Similarly, those saying jobs are "hard to get" fell to 45% from 46.3% in March, while responses that jobs are "plentiful" ticked up to 4.8% from 4%.
Business conditions: Consumers anticipating business conditions to improve over the next six months increased to 19.8% from 18% in March, the report said.
Respondents expecting conditions to worsen in the months ahead fell to 12.6% from 13.6%.
Consumer confidence nearly doubles locallyConsumer Confidence
