Consumer confidence fell in the second quarter from early this year as slowing employment growth and an escalating eurozone crisis made Americans more cautious about the economic outlook, Reuters reported after the release of survey results.

Consumer sentiment fell by 5 points in the second quarter from the first quarter to 87, according to a quarterly survey by global information and analytics company Nielsen.

A reading below 100 indicates that consumers are pessimistic about the economic outlook for the coming months.

Thirty-four percent of Americans were optimistic about their job prospects for the next six months, compared with 38 percent in a survey in the first quarter. Thirty-three percent said now was not a good time to buy things they needed, down from 38 percent in the first-quarter survey, Reuters said.

Seventy-eight percent of those answering the survey said the economy was in recession in the three months through June. That was down from 83 percent in the previous survey, but 56 percent of those who saw a recession in the latest survey expected the downturn to last at least another 12 months.