Economic optimism drops to 3-year low: poll

Optimism about the economy has dropped to a three-year low, according to a new poll, with roughly a third of Americans saying they expect the economy to get worse in the next year.

Just 23 percent of respondents in the CNBC poll released Thursday said they expect the economy to improve, while 32 percent said they expect it will get worse in the next year.

That marks the first time since President Trump took office that the level of economic optimism in the poll has fallen below that of economic pessimism.{mosads}

The survey showed a slump in expectations in the third quarter on topics such as wage increases and views about a robust stock market.

Only 36 percent of Americans surveyed in the poll expect their wages to increase in the coming year, down 11 points from the previous quarter.

Similarly, 35 percent said it was a good time to invest in the stock market, which has been on a rocky trajectory since last January, while 36 percent said it was a bad time to invest.

There were other warning signs in the poll for Trump, who intends to make the economy central to his reelection bid in 2020.

Half of respondents, 50 percent, disapproved of Trump’s handling of the economy, the lowest showing he’s had in the poll, while 47 percent disapproved of how he handles the U.S relationship with China and 55 percent disapprove of his policies pertaining to the border and immigration.

The effects of the trade war seem to be seeping into consumer consciousness as well. In May, before a major escalation in Trump’s standoff with China, 59 percent of people said prices would rise in the coming year. In the latest survey, that number rose to 75 percent.

Chinese officials are scheduled to hold trade negotiations in Washington next week ahead of another tariff deadline, which would raise the rate on $250 billion of Chinese imports from 25 percent to 30 percent.

The survey of 800 Americans was conducted last week and has a margin of error of 3.5 percentage points.