US consumer confidence drops in April to lowest level in 4 months
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In this April 2, 2015 photo, a shopper tries on rings at a luxury jewelry shop in Beverly Hills, Calif. The Conference Board releases the Consumer Confidence Index for April on Tuesday, April 28, 2015. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel) (The Associated Press)
U.S. consumer confidence fell this month to the lowest level in four months, knocked down by a slowdown in hiring.
The Conference Board says its consumer confidence index fell to 95.2 in April from 101. 4 in March, the lowest reading since December's 93.1.
Consumers' assessment of current economic conditions fell for the third straight month, and their expectations for the future fell in April.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Lynn Franco, the Conference Board's director of economic indicators, blamed "the recent lackluster performance of the labor market." The American economy generated just 126,000 jobs last month, breaking a 12-month streak of at least 200,000 new jobs a month; 31 states registered job losses in March.