Gallup Daily: Slight Drop in "Poor" Economy Ratings

PRINCETON, NJ -- Americans' ratings of current economic conditions remain highly negative, but have shown modest improvement in recent days as the percentage describing the economy as "poor" has declined from 46% four days ago to 40% in the latest Gallup Poll Daily tracking update. At least 4 in 10 Americans have given the economy a poor rating since April. The vast majority of Americans, 84%, continue to perceive the economy as getting worse. -- Jeff Jones

Survey Methods

For the Gallup Poll Daily tracking survey, Gallup is interviewing no fewer than 1,000 U.S. adults nationwide each day during 2008. The economic questions analyzed in this report are asked of a random half-sample of respondents. The results reported here are based on combined data from 1,489 interviews conducted May 3-5, 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.

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