New York (AP) - A private research group is reporting Tuesday that consumers' confidence in the economy has fallen unexpectedly in June as shoppers fret about job security.

The New York-based Conference Board says its consumer confidence index stands at 49.3, down from its revised May level of 54.8. Economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters were projecting a reading of 55.

The dip follows rises in April and May that were helped by a stock market rally.

The confidence index has two parts. The present situation index, which measures how shoppers feel now about the economy, declined to 24.8 from 29.7. The expectations index, shoppers' outlook for the next six months, declined to 65.5 from 71.5 in May.
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