Americans’ outlook for the economy darkened in June, a
Back in February, only 25% thought the economy would sputter, 44% didn’t expect any change, and 34% were hoping for improvement.
Until there is a steady stream of good news, Harris Interactive said, this pessimism is likely to continue.
As a result of their concerns over unemployment and the debt ceiling, only 26% give President Obama favorable ratings over his handling of the economy, and the remaining 74% gave him negative ratings hands-down. This is a slight deterioration of one percentage point from June, when 27% gave Obama favorable and 73% gave him negative markets. Among Democrats, 55% give the President negative ratings.
Asked specifically when they think the economy will begin growing again, 47% say not for a year or longer, 16% say between six and 12 months, and 8% say within six months. Only 11% think that the economy is already in recovery mode.
Asked about the job market in their region of the country, 64% say it is bad, 24% say it is neutral, and 12% say it is good. This is a deterioration from the 61% in May who said the job market was bad, the 23% who said it was neutral and the 16% who said it was good.
In response to a question about the job outlook over the next six months, 25% say it will get worse, 53% don’t foresee any improvement, and 22% are hoping for improvement. Again, this is a slightly lower reading than in May, when 21% thought the job market would get worse, 49% didn’t foresee improvement, and 30% were expecting the job market to pick up.
