U.S. Economic Assessments Best in Nearly Two Decades.
Byline: Jeffrey M. Jones
Synopsis: Americans' confidence in the economy has not been higher since 2000, and their assessment of the job market is the most positive it has been in Gallup's 17-year trend.
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Americans' evaluations of current U.S. economic conditions and the economy's trajectory have not been more upbeat since 2000. Currently, 54% of Americans rate economic conditions as "excellent" or "good," and just 12% as "poor." Also, by 57% to 34%, more Americans say the economy is getting better than say it is getting worse.
The combination of those answers results in a Gallup Economic Confidence Index of +33. The index was last at that level in January 2004, and has not been higher since November 2000 (+39), at the tail end of the dot-com boom.
The latest results are based on an Oct. 1-10 survey. Since then, however, the stock market has been volatile, which could negatively affect consumer attitudes. Any effect of the stock market volatility that began Oct. 10 would not be fully reflected in these results.
Gallup first asked Americans to assess the state of the economy using its current conditions and economic outlook questions in 1992, and has done so on a regular basis since 1996. The questions were asked at least monthly between October 2000 and December 2008, and on Gallup's annual April economic survey between 2009 and 2017. In December 2017, Gallup resumed asking them monthly.
Gallup asked the same questions on daily tracking surveys between 2008 and 2017. While the tracking and non-tracking survey estimates did not always match, they were usually within 10 points of each other. Because economic confidence was depressed throughout those years, it is safe to conclude that the current level of confidence has not been higher in any Gallup polling on the topic since 2000.
Today's robust confidence numbers are still well below the high in Gallup's trend, a +56 confidence index rating in January 2000, at a time of then-record stock values, low unemployment and strong economic growth. That month, 71% of Americans rated current economic conditions as excellent or good, while just 5% rated them as poor. Also, 69% thought the economy was getting better and 23% worse.
The Oct. 1-10 poll finds similarly positive ratings of the U.S. job market. Sixty-eight percent of U.S. adults say it is a good time to find a quality job, tying July's measure as the highest in Gallup's trend dating back to August 2001. The quality job trend...
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