Gallup Daily: Tracking Consumer Confidence

PRINCETON, NJ -- Gallup Daily interviews conducted Saturday through Monday find 32% of Americans calling the economy "poor," slightly better than the 34% who provided this same rating over the Friday to Sunday time frame, but still much worse than the 24% reported over the first few days of the month. A combined 76% of Americans currently rate economic conditions as "only fair" or "poor," while only 24% call them "excellent" or "good."

While the percentage of Americans calling the economy poor has varied slightly during the three-day rolling interviewing periods in January, the overall trend has been characterized by an increasing number of consumers rating the economy "poor" as the month has progressed.

Separately, 79% of Americans perceive economic conditions to be getting worse. This figure has declined slightly over the past few rolling three-day reporting periods but remains higher than the 73% who felt this way during the first few days of January.

Combining respondents' answers to the two questions, Gallup finds that 68% of Americans hold profoundly negative views of the nation's economy -- saying economic conditions are only fair or poor and that they are either staying that way or getting worse. Only 10% hold a positive set of attitudes about the economy -- saying conditions are excellent or good and are either remaining that way or improving. Twenty percent hold mixed views. -- Dennis Jacobe

Methodology: The results reported here are based on 1,558 interviews conducted Jan. 26-28, 2008. For results based on this sample, the maximum margin of sampling error is ±3 percentage points. In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into the findings of public opinion polls.