WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Led by brighter views on present employment and business conditions, the Conference Board’s gauge of consumer confidence jumped in October to the highest level since February 2008, the New York-based research group said Thursday.

The consumer-confidence index increased to 72.2 last month from a downwardly revised 68.4 in September. A prior estimate for September pegged the level at 70.3.

“Consumers were considerably more positive in their assessment of current conditions, with improvements in the job market as the major driver,” said Lynn Franco, director of economic indicators at the Conference Board.

Generally when the economy is growing at a good clip, confidence readings are at least 90. The last time the confidence gauge reached above 90 was in December 2007, when the recession began.

Economists polled by MarketWatch had expected an October level of 73, citing declining unemployment, among other factors. See economic calendar. Consumers have also been hearing positive news on the housing market, and gas prices have dropped about 30 cents a gallon since mid-September.

“Overall, the improving tone in the economic data is recent weeks is consistent with the emerging picture of better momentum in the economic recovery,” said Millan Mulraine, a macro strategist at TD Securities. “And even though the pace of growth will likely remain subdued, activity should pick-up more meaningfully in the second half of next year after the current uncertainties are lifted.”

However, Amna Asaf, an economist at Capital Economics, said consumers still face substantial challenges.

“We expect this improvement in confidence to fade, as Sandy, the looming fiscal cliff and lower equity prices all take a toll,” Asaf said.

Analysts watch readings on confidence to get a sense of consumers’ spending, which makes up the majority of the economy. According to the Conference Board’s survey results, those with plans to buy an automobile within six months rose to 12.9% in October from 12% in September. However, those planning to buy a home declined to 5.3% from 5.4%, while those planning to buy major appliances fell to 46.4% from 49.6%.

Confidence details

The Conference Board’s gauge of consumers’ views on the present situation rose to 56.2 in October from 48.7 in September.

The portion of survey respondents saying jobs are “plentiful” rose to 10.3% in October from 8.1% in September, while those saying jobs are “not so plentiful” declined to 50.3% from 51.2%, and those saying jobs are “hard to get” ticked down to 39.4% from 40.7%.

The portion of respondents saying business conditions are “good” rose to 16.5% in October from 15.3% in September, while those saying conditions are “bad” declined to 33.1% from 33.8%. The rest said conditions are “normal.”

Meanwhile, the Conference Board’s barometer on expectations rose to 82.9 from 81.5. Those expecting business condition to be “better” in six months rose to 21.4% in October from 17.9% in September, while those expecting “worse” conditions also rose, to 15.1% from 14.5%. The rest expect conditions to the same.

In a busy Thursday for economic data, a report on private payrolls showed growth of 158,000 jobs in October. Read more about private payrolls.