(The Hill) — Nearly three-quarters of Americans say economic conditions are poor or fair, according to a new poll from the Pew Research Center.
In the latest findings, 76 percent of Americans are expressing dissatisfaction, a slight increase from 72 percent in January 2024 when people similarly rated the conditions as fair or poor.
Conversely, Friday’s poll shows that 24 percent of respondents view economic conditions as being good or excellent.
Americans are attributing their negative outlook on the economy mainly to increasing personal expenses and living costs, cited by 42 percent. High inflation follows at 17 percent, with 9 percent pointing to the cost of living, and 6 percent highlighting food and grocery prices.
The survey reveals that 53 percent believe President Trump’s economic strategies have worsened matters. Conversely, 22 percent feel his actions had minimal impact, while 24 percent think there’s been economic improvement under his policies.
Forty-six percent of those polled expect economic conditions to worsen by next year, Pew found.
“The shift in perspective is largely due to diminished optimism from Republicans, who still remain more likely than Democrats to view the current economic situation positively,” noted the pollsters.
This week’s polling also reflected poorly on the president, with his approval rating dropping to 43 percent—the lowest in his second term—according to Marquette University Law School’s survey conducted in Milwaukee on Wednesday.
On the same day, a Washington Post poll reported that 47 percent of Americans hold Trump and Congressional Republicans accountable for the ongoing government shutdown, now in its third day, whereas 33 percent blame the Democrats in Congress.
The Pew Research Center’s poll was conducted Sept. 22-28 and included 3,445 respondents. The margin of error is 1.9 percentage points.
