Although consumer confidence showed an improvement during the month of April, this month the Index fell to 60.8 from 66.0 in a monthly comparison, according to the Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index.

Lynn France, the director of the Conference Board Consumer Research Center, Consumers are considerably more apprehensive about future business and labor market conditions as well as their income prospects. Inflation concerns, which had eased last month, have picked up once again. On the other hand, consumers assessment of current conditions declined only modestly, suggesting no significant pickup or deterioration in the pace of growth.

Consumers' short term outlook has turned pessimistic this month, as well as consumers' outlook in regards to the labor market for the next six months.

The monthly Consumer Confidence Survey is based on a probability design random sample. It is conducted for the Conference Board by The Nielsen Company, a global provider of analytics in regards to what consumers buy and watch.