Consumer confidence, which plunged sharply in February, jumped by the largest amount in seven months in early March as Americans were encouraged by an increase in hiring.
The AP-Ipsos consumer confidence index rose to 84.2 in early March, a gain of 6.4 percent from a February reading of 79.1. It was the largest one-month gain since a 13.9 percent rise last August.
Even with the big percentage gain in the March index, the overall level remains below where it was at the beginning of the year because of February’s sharp drop.
