The U.S. Conference Board’s consumer confidence index for May came out in line with expectations, rising slightly.

The index delivered a reading of 109.8, up from 108.5 in April.

RBC Financial says that the gain was driven by a stronger assessment of present conditions with little change in how consumers perceive future conditions.

BMO Nesbitt Burns says that the underlying confidence data were mixed. “The ‘present situation’ sub-index rose 3.5 points to 110.3. But expectations cooled to 109.4, the second month of drift in this sub-index. Households are less certain that the job market will pick up, that their incomes will improve, or that overall business conditions will get better.”

Labour market indicators were virtually unchanged, notes BMO. Only 20.9% of respondents judged jobs plentiful, with this low figure the same as in April.

“The May U.S. consumer confidence reading further confirms that the economy will not get much of a boost from consumer spending going forward,” concludes BMO.