According to recently released survey data, there is a noticeable decline in Americans’ confidence in the economy.
Gallup’s economic confidence rating declined in April compared to March, reflecting the ongoing issue of high inflation. This decline came shortly after the federal government released disappointing Gross Domestic Product data.
According to Gallup, economic confidence has experienced a decline for the first time in the past seven months, marking a departure from the previous trend of marginal improvement over the past five months.
The U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis recently released its Personal Consumption Expenditure (PCE) data, revealing a 0.3% increase in the previous month, according to The Center Square’s previous report.
Prices also saw a 0.4% increase, according to the federal Consumer Price Index.
According to Gallup polling, inflation has emerged as a major concern among Americans, with 55% expressing significant worry about it.
Recent GDP data, as reported by The Center Square, shows that the growth rate for the first quarter of 2024 was only 1.6%, which is below experts’ projections and lower than the 3.4% growth seen in the previous quarter at the end of 2023.
The political implications of the results, as per Gallup, could be substantial.
According to Gallup, today’s ECI score of -29 is similar to the score in mid-1992 (-37), when President George H.W. Bush lost the election due to economic concerns. Interestingly, when Donald Trump was defeated for a second term in 2020, evaluations of the economy were mostly neutral at -4 in October. In comparison, economic confidence ratings were neutral in October 2004 (+1) and October 2012 (-1), when incumbents won reelection. It is worth noting that economic confidence was positive in October 1996 (+23) when Bill Clinton won a second term.
