The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index, which decreased in February, improved in March. Consumer optimism is growing, but uncertainty remains about the future.

Based on a probability-design random sample, the monthly survey is conducted for The Conference Board by Nielsen, a leading global provider of information and analytics around what consumers buy and watch. The cutoff date for the preliminary results was March 14.

“Consumer confidence improved in March, as expectations for the short-term outlook bounced back from February’s decline,” said Lynn Franco, director of economic indicators at The Conference Board. “While consumers were moderately more upbeat about future job prospects and the overall economy, they were less optimistic about income growth.”

With a baseline of 100 set in 1985, the index now stands at 82.3, up from 78.3 in February. The Present Situation Index edged down to 80.4 from 81.0, while the Expectations Index increased to 83.5 from 76.5.

Consumers’ assessment of current conditions was little changed in March. Those claiming business conditions are “good” increased from 21.2% to 22.9%. However, those claiming business conditions are “bad” also rose, from 22% to 23.2%.

 “The Present Situation Index, which had been on an upward trend for the past four months, was relatively unchanged in March,” she added. “Overall, consumers expect the economy to continue improving and believe it may even pick up a little steam in the months ahead.”

Consumers’ appraisal of the labor market was relatively unchanged. Those claiming jobs are “plentiful” decreased marginally from 13.4% to 13.1%, while those saying jobs are “hard to get” increased slightly from 32.4% to 33%.

Consumers’ expectations, which fell in February, rebounded in March. The percentage of consumers expecting business conditions to improve over the next six months increased to 18.1% from 17.3%, while those anticipating business conditions to worsen declined to 10.2% from 13.6%.

Consumers’ outlook for the labor market was also moderately more optimistic. Those expecting more jobs in the months ahead edged up from 13.7% to 13.9%, while those expecting fewer jobs fell from 20.9% to 18%. The proportion of consumers expecting their incomes to grow shrank from 15.8% to 14.9%, but those anticipating a decline in their incomes also decreased, from 13.4% to 12.1%.

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