Americans increasingly pessimistic about the future of the economy: Gallup survey
Gallup's economic confidence index measured -45 in May, down from -39 in the previous two months, which were already negative. This is the lowest reading in the Gallup trend during the coronavirus pandemic, and arguably the lowest confidence since the end of the Great Recession in early 2009.
The latest results are based on a Gallup poll conducted May 2-22, so relatively recent, in a period when gas prices are record-breaking, inflation is high, the government reported that economic growth in the first quarter it fell and the stock market collapsed. The low unemployment rate is the only positive point, but there are several jobs that are not fulfilled. Gallup has measured Americans' perceptions of the economy in its multi-day telephone polls since 1992, but has rarely done so between 2009 and 2017. It is possible that confidence was lower than it is today.
Confidence was clearly lower than it is now in February 2009, when the index registered -64 in that month's Gallup poll, but it was in full economic recession. If you get closer now, it is not a good thing.
Currently, 14% of US adults rate economic conditions as 'excellent' or 'good', while 46% rate them as 'poor' and another 39% as 'only fair' . The Confidence Index takes into account the net of excellent and good responses versus poor ones, which this month is equal to -32. In April, 20% of Americans rated the economy positively and 42% rated it poor, with a net result of -22.
Meanwhile, 20% of Americans say the economy is improving and 77% that it is getting worse, basically the same as in April and March.
While not as frequent as during the 2007-2009 recession, economic worries take center stage when Americans are asked to point out, without being prompted, the most important problem facing the United States. Inflation is broadly in line with the lack of serious government as the first general problem, with 19% appoints it.
Other frequently cited problems are immigration, race relations or racism, abortion, country unification, crime and violence.
Mentions of inflation have stabilized since March, with values of 17% or 18%, after rising during the autumn and winter months. Percentages remain relatively high compared to recent history, but have been higher in the past, including 52% in October 1981, 49% in January 1982 and 31% in April 1982, around the time inflation reached the current rate for the last time. Between 1990 and 2021, inflation was reported by an average of 1% of Americans.
These results are bad for various reasons for Biden: the government is seen with inflation as the main problem, and inflation is one of the consequences of the government. The air is blowing very badly, in the direction of a deep political and economic crisis.
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The article Americans increasingly pessimistic about the future of the economy: Gallup survey comes from ScenariEconomici.it .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/americani-sempre-piu-pessimisti-sul-futuro-delleconomia-indagine-gallup/ on Wed, 01 Jun 2022 06:00:42 +0000.