Consumer confidence at highest level since 2000

Consumer confidence in the U.S. has reached its highest point in nearly 17 years, according to a new survey out Tuesday.

The Consumer Confidence Index now stands at 125.9 – its highest point since December of 2000, when it hit 128.6, the Conference Board, a business research group, said. Last month, the index reached 120.6.

Consumers’ outlook on current economic conditions improved from last month, and they appear optimistic about the short-term outlook, Lynn Franco, the Conference Board’s director of economic indicators, said in a statement, noting that the economy is likely to continue growing at a steady pace for the rest of the year.

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The findings signal more good news for the economy. Also fueling consumer confidence is the job market, “which had not received such favorable ratings since the summer of 2001,” Franco said.

Unemployment currently sits at 4.2 percent — its lowest point in 16 years. According to the survey, the percentage of consumers who said jobs are “plentiful” increased from 32.7 to 36.3 percent since last month. Conversely, the number of people who said jobs were hard to get declined from 18 percent to 17.5 percent.