Consumers’ confidence in the U.S. economy has reached its highest level in 17 years, according to the latest Consumer Confidence Index survey measuring consumer attitudes about the economy.
The survey, conducted by the public interest business association The Conference Board, noted that consumer confidence increased to 125.9 in October—the highest level it has been since December 2000, when the index rose to 128.6.
The confidence boost comes as stocks have been trading at record highs and the job market has remained relatively strong.
“[This was] boosted by the job market which had not received such favorable ratings since the summer of 2001,” said Lynn Franco, Director of Economic Indicators at The Conference Board.
Franco said that Hurricanes Harvey and Irma brought down consumers’ confidence in the economy during the month of September, but the numbers largely rebounded in October.
Franco added that the increased confidence suggests an expanding economy, predicting that the expansion will continue “at a solid pace” for the rest of 2017.
The Consumer Confidence Index survey measures Americans’ views of the current state of the economy and how it will fare over the next six months. Economists follow this index closely because 70 percent of economic activity in the U.S. is linked to consumer spending.
The Trump administration predicted the economy would grow 2.3 percent in 2017 and 3 percent by 2020. The Commerce Department announced Friday that the country reached 3 percent growth in the third quarter after seasonal adjustments, reaching the administration’s goal before Trump’s tax reform initiatives have been put into place.