A Gallup poll found that Americans' finances are continuing to worsen. Forty-eight percent of citizens said that the country’s economic situation is "poor."
Only 20% of those surveyed stated that the nation's economic conditions are "excellent" or "good," and 32% responded that they are "only fair."
The current figures mark differences with the same survey carried out in August 2023. At that time, 42% of Americans said the country's financial situation was "poor," 23% said it was "excellent" or "good," and 35% said it was " only fair."
Economic prospects also worsen
Americans’ economic outlook is also worsening. Almost three quarters (73%) of those surveyed said that "economic conditions in the country" are worsening, compared to the 67% who said the same in August 2023.
The perception that the economy is the "most important problem facing the country" also increased to 34%. This figure reflects an increase of 3% compared to August.
The poll was published by Lydia Saad, who is "responsible for maintaining Gallup’s long-term trends and ongoing measurement of U.S. public opinion." She commented:
Americans’ subpar economic ratings have been the norm since the pandemic, and that continues today, but their evaluations have turned slightly worse in September after improving a bit over the summer.
The last time such negative figures were recorded regarding the nation's economy was during "the global economic crisis in 2008, the debt ceiling showdown in 2011, the government shutdown in 2013, and the killing of George Floyd and surrounding events in 2020." The worst results Gallup recorded in this survey were "in the years during and in the few years after the 2007-2009 recession:"
The only other period of such sustained negativity about the economy since Gallup began measuring this index monthly in 2000 was recorded in the years during and in the few years after the 2007-2009 recession.
