Doug Carroll

USA TODAY

Consumer confidence is soaring on the strength of a warming job market, climbing to its highest level in almost seven years, the Conference Board said Tuesday.

Its Consumer Confidence Index reached 90.9 in July, up from 86.4 in June. It was the third straight monthly increase and the best reading since October 2007. Tuesday's report solidly beat economists' median forecast for a reading in the mid-80s.

The report follows a five-month string of bright employment reports after a rocky start to the year that's been mostly blamed on an economically-crippling hard winter. From February through June, the economy has added more than 1.2 million jobs and the unemployment rate has fallen to 6.1% from 6.7%.

"Strong job growth helped boost consumers' assessment of current conditions, while brighter short-term outlooks for the economy and jobs, and to a lesser extent personal income, drove the gain in expectations," said Lynn Franco, the board's director of economic indicators. "Recent improvements in consumer confidence, in particular expectations, suggest the recent strengthening in growth is likely to continue into the second half of this year."

The Conference Board's survey showed many consumers see the labor market continuing to improve. Those expecting more jobs in the months ahead increased to 19.1% from 16.3%, while those betting on fewer jobs fell to 16.4% from 18.4%.

More consumers expect their incomes to grow, 17.3% in July versus 16.7% in June. Those expecting a drop in their incomes declined to 11% from 11.4%.