NEW YORK — The Consumer Confidence Index fell in June for the second consecutive month.

The Consumer Confidence Index fell in June for the second consecutive month.

The benchmark slipped to 58.5 in June from 61.7 in May. It had risen to 66.0 in April.

"This month’s decline in consumer confidence was driven by a less favorable assessment of current conditions and continued pessimism about the short-term outlook," says Lynn Franco, research director of The Conference Board, which issues the index. "Consumers rated both current business and labor market conditions less favorably than in May, and fewer consumers foresee conditions improving over the next six months. Inflation fears eased considerably in June, but concerns about income prospects increased. Given the combination of uneasiness about the economic outlook and future earnings, consumers are likely to continue weighing their spending decisions quite carefully."

Consumers claiming business conditions were “good” in June remained the same as in May at 14.3%, while those claiming business conditions were “bad” rose to 38% from 37.2%. Consumers’ assessment of the job market was also less favorable. Those stating jobs were “hard to get” increased to 43.8% from 43.5%, while those stating jobs were “plentiful” decreased to 5.2% from 5.7%.

The Labor Department reported 428,000 first-time claims for unemployment benefits in the third week of June, 8,000 more than economists had projected.