Economic optimism best since early 2022, Gallup finds

A rising number of Americans are showing confidence in the U.S. economy, a Gallup poll released Wednesday found.

Gallup’s Economic Confidence Index has a minus 100 to 100 scale, and June’s score of minus 32 is the highest since January 2022. The scale has been below 0 in all but two months since January 2021.

Confidence figures cratered last year amid rising inflation and fears of another recession, but continued growth has begun to turn those tides, researchers said.

Republicans rated their economic confidence significantly lower than Democrats, but both groups’ scores increased along similar lines. Democrats gave a rating of 5 on the economy, while Republicans gave a minus 65 rating in this month’s poll.

Similarly, Republicans were much more likely than Democrats to say the economy is bad and getting worse. Independents nearly perfectly split the two parties, with a minus 35 confidence score.

To rebut recessional fears, President Biden has embraced “Bidenomics” to phrase his administration’s economic gains. Inflation has fallen since its 2022 peak, and unemployment continues to be low.

Despite that, the overall outlook on the U.S. economy is still negative, researchers said.