PRINCETON, NJ -- Gallup Poll Daily tracking finds 86% of Americans saying the economy is getting worse, continuing the long-running trend of highly negative economic attitudes. At least 8 in 10 Americans have said the economy is getting worse since Feb. 23-25 polling, and more than 7 in 10 have said so since the beginning of the year.
Forty-two percent of Americans rate current economic conditions as "poor." The most negative rating for the year is 47%, but poor ratings have been much lower this year, including a 24% reading in the Jan. 2-4 results. -- 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 1,478 interviews conducted May 6-8, 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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