Summer swoon for retailers?

Consumer confidence jumped in June, along with a rebound of jobs and economic growth after a slow start to the year.

Sentiment rose to 101.4 in June, which is 17.4 percent higher than a year ago and up from May’s 94.6, the Conference Board’s confidence index showed on Tuesday.

{mosads}”Over the past two months, consumers have grown more confident about the current state of business and employment conditions,” said Lynn Franco, director of economic indicators at the Conference Board.

“Overall, consumers are in considerably better spirits and their renewed optimism could lead to a greater willingness to spend,” Franco said.

The economy has sparked in the second quarter — estimates are that growth will hit at least 2 percent — after contracting at a 0.2 percent rate in the first three months of the year.

In May, the labor market added 280,000 jobs and the unemployment rate was 5.5 percent. The June data  — set for release on Thursday — is expected to show an increase of about 225,000 jobs, according to estimates.

Jobs growth should help further boost confidence levels and lead to more consumer spending, which represents 70 percent of the economy.