Consumer confidence edges up in October

The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index, which had declined in September, increased slightly in October.

The index stands at 50.2, up from 48.6 in September.

"Consumer confidence, while slightly improved from September levels, is still hovering at historically low levels. Consumers' assessment of the current state of the economy is relatively unchanged, primarily because labor market conditions have yet to significantly improve," said Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center, in a statement.

Consumers' appraisal of current conditions was somewhat mixed in October. Those who say business conditions are "bad" decreased to 41.9 percent from 46 percent and those who say business conditions are "good" edged up to 8.5 percent from 8.2 percent.

Consumers' assessment of the labor market, however, was less favorable in October. Those who say jobs are "hard to get" rose to 46.1 percent from 45.8 percent and those who say jobs are "plentiful" decreased to 3.5 percent from 3.8 percent.