Consumer confidence hits eight-month high

Consumer confidence hit an eight-month high in January, rising more than expected as the economic recovery picked up pace. 

The Conference Board’s index of sentiment increased to 60.6 from a revised 53.3 the prior month, according to the report released Tuesday. 

Although better than expected, confidence needs to reach 90 before it's considered that consumers are fully supporting the economy. Consumer spending accounts for about 70 percent of the economy and has, so far, been supported mainly by upper-income brackets who are benefiting from an improving stock market. 

President Obama will use his State of the Union address Tuesday night to further boost confidence. He is expected to talk about job creation, make the U.S. more competitive in the global market, deficit reduction and a more positive civil discourse. 

Last May, confidence hit 62.7 before stalling out over the summer. Although the job market is still slow to add positions, consumers are responding more positively on overall economic news, including the news that many companies say they are planning to add jobs in the next six months. 

That news came in a new survey from the National Association for Business Economics on Monday that the number of firms planning to hire hit its highest level in 12 years. 

Consumers who expect to see more jobs in that six-month span rose from 14.2  percent to 16 percent this month, the report showed. 

Also, the number who said jobs are plentiful rose to their highest level since May 2009. Consumers also expect their incomes to climb with those numbers rising to their highest level in eight months. 

With the unemployment rate at 9.4 percent, the survey found that people who felt jobs were hard to get fell slightly to 43.4 percent from 46 percent in December, the report showed.