Economic confidence ticks upward: Gallup

Americans’ confidence in the U.S. economy has increased slightly, according to a new Gallup poll released Monday, though the number remains negative.

Gallup’s Economic Confidence Index, which has a theoretical range of -100 to +100, found that Americans’ confidence in the economy improved in November and early December, moving up from -45 in October to -39 in the latest poll.

The survey measures Americans’ confidence through their individual assessment of current U.S. economic conditions, as well as their views of whether the economy is getting better or worse.

While the number remains negative, the poll has slowly ticked up in recent months, showing an upward trend after the index hit as low as -58 in June before dipping slightly in October.

Overall, pollsters found that Americans are less confident about the economy than they were in 2021 and early 2022.

The latest poll also found that only 15 percent of respondents rated economic conditions as either excellent or good, while 46 percent say they are poor; 40 percent of Americans described the economy as being in “only fair” shape. The rates have also improved slightly from October, with 14 percent rating it as excellent or good and 49 percent as poor.

The worst recorded rate this year was in June, when 54 percent rated the economy as poor.

The index reached historic lows in recent months since the 2007-2009 recession, including a record-low -72 in October 2008 during the financial crisis that sparked the Great Recession.

The slight upward trend follows midterm elections and gas prices that lowered from an expensive uptick in June, though prices for gas and goods are still high from the inflation, a stumbling stock market and high interest rates.

The poll was conducted Nov. 9-Dec. 2 with a random sample of 1,020 adults and has a sampling error of plus or minus 4 percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level.