Consumer confidence jumped more than forecast in April as stocks recovered, mortgage rates dropped and Americans thought more jobs will become available, adding to signs the recession may be easing. The Conference Board’s sentiment index climbed to 39.2, the highest level since November, from 26.9 in March, the New York- based research group said today. The gain was the biggest since November 2005. The improvement raises the odds that recent gains in consumer spending, which accounts for 70 percent of the economy, will be sustained. The report indicates efforts by Federal Reserve policy makers, meeting today and tomorrow, to lower borrowing costs and unclog lending may be starting to pay off. “There’s definitely caution, but it pales in comparison to what we saw in the second half of 2008,” Maxwell Clarke, chief U.S. economist at IDEAglobal in New York, said before the report. “By the second half, we may see a decided increase in consumer spending.” Consumer confidence was projected to rise to 29.7, from an originally reported reading of 26 in March, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey of 62 economists. Forecasts ranged from 26 to 35. The index averaged 57.95 last year. A report from S&P/Case-Shiller showed home prices in 20 U.S. metropolitan areas fell 18.6 percent in February from the same month last year after dropping 19 percent the previous month. It was the first time since the measure started dropping in January 2007, that the index didn’t post a record year-over- year decline. Better Expectations The Conference Board’s measure of present conditions rose to 23.7 from 21.9 the prior month. The gauge of expectations for the next six months surged to 49.5, the highest level since Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.’s collapse in September. The share of consumers who said more jobs will be available in the next six months jumped to 13.9, the most since June 2007. The outlook for current employment was more mixed. Fewer Americans said jobs were plentiful, at the same time those that said employment was hard to get also dropped. “Consumers believe the economy is nearing a bottom,” Lynn Franco, director of the Conference Board’s consumer research center, said in a statement. Still, the index “remains well below levels associated with strong economic growth.” Stocks Gain The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index has gained 7.5 percent in April, leaving it poised for its first two-month advance in a year. The benchmark index for American equities is up 27 percent since March 9, helped by unexpected increases in U.S. home sales and durable goods orders and a bigger-than-forecast jump in the University of Michigan’s survey of consumer sentiment. The rally has been led by industries most reliant on economic growth. Banks and brokerage in the S&P 500 added 70 percent since the March low, while a group of retailers, automakers and restaurant chains climbed 41 percent, industrial companies surged 40 percent and raw-materials producers increased 35 percent, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Today’s confidence figures corroborate other reports. The Reuters/University of Michigan preliminary index of consumer sentiment rose for a second month in April, advancing to the highest level since Lehman’s bankruptcy in September pushed the U.S. deeper into a slump. Economists have said the Conference Board’s index tends to be more influenced by attitudes about the labor market. Payroll Drop The economy has lost 5.1 million jobs since the recession began in December 2007. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg in early April predicted unemployment will rise to 9.5 percent by the end of the year. At the same time, recent reports show government efforts to support housing and revive lending may be starting to work. Combined purchases of new and existing houses have hovered around a 5 million annual pace since November, and sales at retailers improved in the first two months of the year. Amazon.com Inc., the world’s biggest Internet retailer, posted a jump in first-quarter sales and profit, bolstered by free shipping offers. Restaurant chains Cheesecake Factory Inc. and Yum! Brands Inc. reported quarterly income that fell less than analysts forecast. In a sign the plunge in car sales may be easing, AutoNation Inc., the largest publicly traded U.S. car retailer, this month reported a smaller-than-expected drop in first-quarter earnings. “We saw in the first quarter the first signs of stabilization,” Chief Executive Officer Mike Jackson said in an interview on April 23. Sales improved in the last 10 days of March as banks offered better lending terms, he said.

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