WASHINGTON (CBS.MW) - The continued weak U.S. labor market is taking its toll on U.S. consumer confidence, the Conference Board reported Tuesday.

The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index fell to 76.8 in September from a revised 81.7 in August.

This is the lowest level of consumer confidence since March.

The decline was larger than expected. The consensus forecast of Wall Street economists was for consumer confidence to slip to 80.7 in September.

Consumer's view of the current economy sank to almost 10-year lows. The present situation index shrank to 59.5 from 62.0. This is the lowest level for the present situation index since Nov 1993.

The expectation of future economic conditions also fell in September, to 88.4 from 94.9.

"The lack of improvement in labor market conditions continues to dampen consumers' spirits," said Lynn Franco, director of the Conference Board's consumer research center.

Franco said that despite the retreat in September, consumers "remain cautiously optimistic" about the outlook.

"Consumer spending is likely to continue at or near current levels," she said.

The number of consumers reporting jobs are "hard to get" rose to 35.3 percent from 34.1. Those claiming jobs are "plentiful" retreated to 10.0 percent from 11.3 percent in August.