U.S. consumer confidence jumped higher in May as optimism over the job market rose, the U.S. Conference Board said today.

The private research group reported that its index of consumer confidence jumped to 102.2 in May, from a revised 97.5 in April and 103.0 in March.

Economists had forecast a reading of 96.0 for May.

“Consumer confidence improved in May, gaining back nearly all of the ground it lost in April,” Conference Board economist Lynn Franco said in a release. “Consumers’ concerns about the economy and jobs have eased,” she said.

The Conference Board noted that its index of present economic circumstances moved to 116.7 in May from April’s revised 113.8. Meanwhile, an index measuring expectations for the economy’s prospects in the near future showed solid improvement, hitting 92.5 in May from April’s revised 86.7.

The report found that feelings about the labor market mostly improved. Those claiming jobs are “plentiful” represented 22.6% of the survey, up from 20.4% a month ago, while those who saw jobs as “hard to get” rose to 24.2%, after April’s 22.9%. Those expecting more jobs to become available made up 14.9% of the survey, compared to April’s 14%. Those expecting fewer jobs ebbed to 15.9%, versus 18.4% in April.

The U.S. Labor Department will issue its report on hiring during May on Friday.

The proportion of consumers anticipating their incomes to improve in the months ahead rose to 17.2% from 16.8%.

In terms of the overall economy, 26.5% of the respondents, nearly the same as the month before, deemed overall conditions as “good,” while those who deemed them “bad” ebbed to 16.8% of the respondents from 17.6% the month before.

Separately, the Purchasing Management Association of Chicago said its index of area business activity fell to 54.1 in May on a seasonally adjusted basis from 65.6 in April, according to a press release.

In April, the index fell to 65.6 from 69.2 in March. A reading above 50 indicates expansion in the manufacturing sector and a reading below 50 indicates a contraction.

The Institute for Supply Management will release its latest survey of national factory conditions Wednesday.