By many accounts, the U.S. economy is firing on all cylinders—or at least a lot of cylinders. Inflation has come down markedly since last summer, real GDP has grown nearly 17% since the pandemic-induced 2020 recession, and employers added a record 4.5 million jobs in 2022, a hiring trend that has continued into the new year after last week’s explosive January jobs report brought the unemployment rate down to 3.4%, a 53-year low.
But all the good economic news in the world may not be enough to reverse Americans’ stubborn pessimism towards the economy, the stock market, and everything in between.
