NEW YORK — A private research group says consumer confidence in May soared to the highest level since last September amid tentative signs that the economy is improving.

The Conference Board said today that its Consumer Confidence Index, which had dramatically increased in April, zoomed past economists' expectations to 54.9 from a revised 40.8 in April.

Economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters were expecting 42.3. The reading marks the highest reading since last September — three months before the official start of the recession — when the level was 61.4.