The Conference Board Economics Watch^® United States View

The economy has been generating more than 200,000 new jobs per month since February. This past June, it was 280,000—perhaps begging the question of whether this trend can continue. In fact, The Conference Board Leading Economic Index^® (LEI) is suggesting the economy will not only continue to expand but the pace could even speed up a little over the coming months.

The average consumer thinks better economic times lie ahead, as measured by The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index^®, and more jobs will continue to open up, as signaled by The Conference Board Employment Trends Index™ (ETI). But the first test of how good conditions could be in the latter half of 2014 may come with reports on back-to-school sales this August.