U.S. consumers were feeling more optimistic about the economy in August, according to a report released Tuesday. (Tweet this)
The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index bounced to 101.5 in August, surpassing estimates. Economists polled by Reuters expected a reading of 93.3. July's reading was 91.0.
"Consumer confidence rebounded in August, following a sharp decline in July," said Lynn Franco, director of economic indicators at The Conference Board.
"Consumers' assessment of current conditions was considerably more upbeat, primarily due to a more favorable appraisal of the labor market. The uncertainty expressed last month about the short-term outlook has dissipated and consumers are once again feeling optimistic about the near future. Income expectations, however, were little improved."
A reading on the present situation for U.S. consumers hit 115.1 in August, the highest since November 2007, compared to the revised reading of 104.0 in July.
The report's 'jobs hard-to-get' index dropped to 21.9 versus the upwardly revised figure of 27.4 last month.
The monthly consumer confidence survey is conducted by Nielsen for The Conference Board.
—Reuters contributed to this report.