ANN ARBOR. Consumer confidence improved in the February survey due to more positive signs of expanding employment. When consumers were asked to describe in their own words what economic developments they had recently heard, net job gains were much more commonly reported in February than anytime since last May. The improvement in job prospects was due to a slight uptick in prospects for the national economy. Consumers are still dismayed about the state of government economic policies, with one-in-four spontaneously mentioning some negative aspect. Overall confidence in government economic policies remained near its all-time low, with just 15% who thought the Obama administration and Congress were doing a good job.