Americans’ already low economic confidence drops: Gallup

Americans’ confidence in the economy has plummeted to a new low, hitting likely the lowest confidence since the end of the Great Recession in early 2009, according to a new Gallup poll released on Tuesday.

Gallup’s Economic Confidence Index (ECI) measured -45 in May, which is down from -39 in each of the past two months. 

The index is a summary of Americans’ ratings of current economic conditions and whether the economy is getting better or worse on a theoretical scale of +100 to -100. It takes into account the net of excellent and good versus poor responses

In April, 20 percent of Americans rated the economy positively and 42 percent said it was poor, a net of -22. The net dropped even lower this month to a net of -32.

The lowest ECI was recorded in 2008 at -72 during the Great Recession.

Additionally, only 14 percent of respondents rated economic conditions as either “excellent” or “good,” while 46 percent rated them as “poor.” Another 39 percent rated them as “only fair.”

As for hopes for a better economy in the near future, only 20 percent of Americans say the economy is getting better while 77 percent say it is getting worse.

When asked about the most important problem facing the U.S., 19 percent said the poor government or leadership, while 18 percent said it was the high cost of living or inflation. Twelve percent cited the economy in general.

The poll was conducted May 2-22 and surveyed 1,007 registered voters. The margin of error was 4 percentage points.