Story Highlights
- The percentage of economies rated “bad” increased by six percentage points in September
- Pessimism about the direction of the economy is also deepening
- Economic concerns are mentioned as the country’s main problem: 34%
WASHINGTON, DC — Americans’ already negative assessments of the U.S. economy worsened slightly in September, both in terms of their perceptions of current economic conditions and their outlook on the direction of the economy.
In this month’s update, 20% of U.S. adults rate economic conditions as “excellent” or “good,” while 32% rate them as “just fair” and 48% as “poor.” The overall positive rating is down slightly from 23% in August, while the poor rating is up from 42% and is the highest Gallup has seen in a year.
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Asked about the direction of the economy, nearly three-quarters of Americans (73%) say conditions are getting worse, while 24% say they are improving.
Current pessimism about the economy exceeds the 66 to 67 percent who believe the economy deteriorated over the summer months, while it is comparable to last spring’s numbers.
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The latest results come from a Sept. 1-23 Gallup poll, conducted as the risk of a U.S. government shutdown intensified as the Sept. 30 deadline for passing bills to fund federal agency programs for the new budget year.
Gallup combines Americans’ ratings into an index representing net optimism about the economy. The index has a theoretical maximum of +100 if all Americans think the economy is “excellent” or “good” and improving, and a theoretical minimum of -100 if all think the economy is “just fair” or “bad” and deteriorates. .
The economic confidence index currently stands at -39, nine points below its August level. The index has been negative every month since the pandemic began in 2020, except for two readings in early 2021. It was significantly more negative in mid-2022 when high inflation, including record gasoline prices, put consumers in difficulty. Although very reduced today, continued inflation has likely contributed to maintaining negative ICE scores for what is now the 26th.th consecutive month.
The only other period of such sustained negativity toward the economy since Gallup began measuring this index monthly in 2000 was during and in the few years following the 2007-2009 recession.
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Economic concerns are growing
Americans’ tougher view of the economy this month is also evident in their slightly increased focus on economic issues when asked to name the most important problem facing the country. The percentage citing any aspect of the economy as a main problem increased slightly to 34%, up from 31% in August.
Most economic concerns cited by Americans relate to the economy in general (16%) or inflation in particular (9%). Three percent of Americans each cite the federal budget deficit and unemployment, while fewer cite the wealth gap, gas prices, taxes and recession fears.
Yet many more Americans — 67% in total — continue to cite one or more uneconomic problems as the main problem of the nation. This encompasses a variety of domestic and international issues, but is dominated this month, as is typically the case, by concerns about government leadership (18%) and immigration (13%). While mentions of government have fallen four points since August, mentions of immigration have increased by the same amount. The percentages of Americans citing all other problems are statistically unchanged.
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Satisfaction with American leadership remains rare
Growing concerns about the economy in September have not worsened Americans’ negative view of the country as a whole, as eight in ten continue to say they are dissatisfied with the way things are going in the United States. United, while only 20% are. satisfied.
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Conclusion
Americans’ poor economic ratings have been the norm since the pandemic, and that continues today, but their ratings deteriorated slightly in September after improving slightly over the summer.
At the same time, Americans’ overall satisfaction with the country hasn’t changed — probably because at 20 percent, it’s already as low as it can be without a major economic or political event sparking bipartisan concerns. Historically, these episodes include the global economic crisis of 2008, the debt ceiling confrontation in 2011, the government shutdown in 2013and the killing of George Floyd and the events surrounding it in 2020. It remains to be seen whether a government shutdown in October will lead to a similar decline in satisfaction.
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