WASHINGTON - Consumer confidence is 44.9, up from last month's all-time low of 38, The Conference Board reported today.

The New York City-based research organization's survey of 5,000 families also indicated that the Present Situation Index, which measures consumer assessment on current conditions, fell from 43.5 to 42.2.

The Expectations Index increased from 35.7 last month to 46.7

"The persistent declines in the Present Situation Index suggest that the economy has weakened further in the final months of this year. Inflation expectations, which have been at historically high levels in recent months, subsided considerably as a result of falling gas prices," Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board's Consumer Research Center said in a statement.

Consumers characterizing business conditions as "bad" increased to 40.3%, up from 37.1%, while those saying business conditions are "good" increased from 9.4% to 9.9%. The percentage of consumers who said jobs are "hard to get" rose to 37.2% from 36.6% in October, while those said jobs are "plentiful" decreased to 8.8% from 9%.