Consumer confidence posts surprise decline

Women walk through a shopping mall in San Francisco, California January 5, 2012.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Consumer confidence unexpectedly fell in January as more Americans worried about the country's weak job market, according to a private sector report released on Tuesday.

The Conference Board, an industry group, said its index of consumer attitudes dropped to 61.1 from an upwardly revised 64.8 the month before.

Economists had expected a reading of 68.0, according to a Reuters poll. December was originally reported as 64.5.

Consumers' labor market assessment worsened. The "jobs hard to get" index increased to 43.5 percent from 41.6 percent the month before. The "jobs plentiful" index also darkened, dropping to 6.1 percent from 6.6 percent.

The expectations index fell to 76.2 from 77.0, while the present situation index decreased to 38.4 from 46.5.

Consumers also felt worse about price increases with expectations for inflation in the coming 12 months up to 5.5 percent from 5.3 percent.

(Reporting by Jason Lange; Editing by Padraic Cassidy)