PRINCETON, NJ -- As the week comes to a close, Gallup Poll Daily tracking of Americans' economic attitudes shows no signs of moving significantly into an even more negative state, or of becoming more positive. Seventy-seven percent of Americans say the U.S. economy is getting worse, while just 14% say it is getting better.
One change over the last month in this tracking of consumer optimism and pessimism came in mid-January, when Americans became slightly more negative for a period of time. None of these changes is major; Americans in a broad sense have remained pessimistic all year. Their assessments of the current U.S. economy remain negative, with little sign of improvement or deterioration. At this point, 32% rate the economy as "poor," while only 23% rate it as excellent or good. As January began, Americans were more positive, but beginning in mid-January, they began to shift to a more negative assessment, which remains to this point. -- Frank Newport
Methodology: Gallup is interviewing 1,000 U.S. adults nationwide each day during 2008. The results reported here are based on 1,528 interviews conducted Feb. 5-7, 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.
