(Corrects month on headline to March from February)
WASHINGTON, March 28 (Reuters) - U.S. consumer
confidence unexpectedly increased in March, but Americans are
becoming a bit anxious about the labor market, a survey showed
on Tuesday.
The Conference Board said its consumer confidence index rose
to 104.2 this month from a reading of 103.4 in February. The
cutoff date for the survey was March 20, about 10 days after the
failure of two regional banks. Economists polled by Reuters had
forecast the index at 101.0.
"The gain reflects an improved outlook for consumers under
55 years of age and for households earning $50,000 and over,"
said Ataman Ozyildirim, senior director of Economics at The
Conference Board.
The share of consumers viewing jobs as "plentiful" fell,
while the proportion saying jobs were "not so plentiful" rose.
Consumers' 12-month inflation expectations rose to 6.3% from
6.2% last month.
(Reporiting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
