The amount of Americans who believe the current state of the U.S. economy is good or excellent has seen a decrease this year, and Latinos are the most pessimistic demographic.
According to a new report by the Pew Research Center, 23% of all respondents in a survey said economic conditions are good or excellent, a figure comprised by 37% of Democrats and 10% of Republicans.
Latinos were a group that dragged down the numbers, with only 20% of all respondents (26% of Democrats and 12% of Republicans) giving the current economy a good grade. Asians were the most positive demographic, with 30% of positive responses, the figure being 27% of Blacks and 23% for Whites.
The overall decrease follows a sustained growth since the summer of 2022. In January of this year, 28% of all respondents said the economy was doing well. The drop was mostly explained by responses from Democrats, dropping from 44% earlier this year to the current 37%.
Views among Republicans have remained largely negative, but that also has to do with the fact that "views of the nation's economy have long been partisan." "Republicans expressed far more positive views of the economy than did Democrats throughout most of Donald Trump's presidency," the report says, although noting that Democrats' ratings "have been far less positive than Republicans' ratings of the economy were when Trump was president."
Another passage of the survey shows generational differences. Only 21% of Democrats under 30 view the economy positively, while this figure rises to 29% among those aged 30 to 49. In contrast, nearly half of Democrats aged 50 to 64 (47%) and a majority of those 65 and older (55%) rate the economy as excellent or good. Notably, there has been a sharp decline in positive economic views among the oldest Democrats, dropping from 70% in January to 55%. Republicans, regardless of age, are generally less likely to view the current economic conditions positively.
Personal financial assessments appear to correlate with national economic ratings. Among the 41% of Americans who rate their finances positively, 40% also rate the national economy positively. Conversely, among those who rate their finances as fair or poor, only 14% and 6%, respectively, view national economic conditions favorably.
Looking ahead, 43% of Americans expect the national economy to remain the same over the next year, while 24% anticipate improvement and 32% foresee worsening conditions. Regarding personal finances, 49% of adults expect their situation to remain unchanged, 34% anticipate improvement, and 16% expect a decline.
Fewer Americans now expect economic conditions to worsen, compared to previous years. Both Democrats and Republicans have similar expectations for national economic improvement (26% and 23%, respectively), though more Republicans (38%) than Democrats (25%) expect conditions to worsen.
Regarding personal financial outlooks, Republicans remain less optimistic than Democrats. About 29% of Republicans expect their family's finances to improve, compared to 39% of Democrats. Additionally, twice as many Republicans (22%) as Democrats (11%) expect their personal financial situation to worsen.
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