The Conference Board's consumer confidence score dropped a little in December but, at 128.1, is a strong signal that the U.S. public is still optimistic about the overall economy.

Among the findings are that only 11.6% of consumers think that jobs are hard to get while 46.2% believe jobs are plentiful. That percentage is just below the highest tally registered since 2001.

The Wells Fargo Economics Group reports that even though, "consumer spending may have come off the boil, confidence remains historically quite high. At least through the end of the year, we expect that bright sentiment will translate into a solid finish for retailers and holiday sales."