Consumer confidence fell steeply in June after rising for three months, due to worries about the labor market because of a recent slowdown in jobs growth, according to a private sector report released on Tuesday.

The Conference Board, an industry group, said its index of consumer attitudes fell to 52.9 in June from a downwardly revised 62.7 in May.

The June figure was sharply below the median of forecasts from analysts polled by Reuters, which was for a reading of 62.8 with forecasts ranging from 59.5 to 65.5.

The May reading was revised down from an original 63.3.

Increasing uncertainty and apprehension about the future state of the economy and labor market, no doubt a result of the recent slowdown in job growth, are the primary reasons for the sharp reversal in confidence, said Lynn Franco, Director of the Conference Board Consumer Research Center.

The expectations index fell to 71.2 from 84.6 in May. The present situation index fell to 25.5 from 29.8 in May.

Consumers' assessment of the labor market worsened.

The jobs hard to get index rose to 44.8 from 43.9, while the jobs plentiful index slipped to 4.3 from 4.6 in May.

(Reporting by John Parry and Wanfeng Zhou; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)

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