NEW YORK – Consumer confidence in the economy dropped more than six points in July from the previous month, according to The Conference Board. Economists had expected the confidence index to rise. The consumer confidence in July was 76.6. One month prior it was 83.5. In addition, the Conference Board's expectations index, which measures how consumers feel about the future, also fell in July -86.4 – from June – 96.4. The Conference Board's Consumer Research Center attributed the drop to "the rising level of unemployment and sentiment that a turnaround in labor market conditions is not around the corner." The Conference Board says expectations "are likely" to remain weak until the job market becomes more favorable. According to the Conference Board, more than 2.5 million jobs have been lost since March 2001 which is when some economists say a recession began. Of the 5,000 households surveyed by the Conference Board, only 16.8% indicated they expected more jobs to become available in the next six months. In June, that figure was 18.9%.