Confidence in Short-Term Economic Growth Remains At Record Low

Confidence among adults nationwide that the U.S. economy will be stronger a year from now remains at an all-time low.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of U.S. adults shows that just 27% believe the economy will be stronger in one year, showing no change from September and the lowest finding in regular tracking since early 2009. Prior to September, the number of adults expecting a stronger economy in a year’s time ranged from 31% to 45%.

Forty-eight percent (48%) expect the U.S. economy to be weaker a year from now, down slightly from September’s high of 52%. This finding remained in the 30s throughout 2009 and rose to the low 40s for much of 2010.  Just 16% expect the economy to be about the same in a year’s time, while 10% more aren’t sure. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

Americans remain more optimistic when it comes to the economy in the longer term. Half (50%) of adults believe the U.S. economy will be stronger in five years, down just three points from September. While this finding has generally stayed in the mid-40s to low-50s since September 2009, 64% of adults felt that way in March of that year. Twenty-one percent (21%) believe the economy will be weaker in five year’s time, while 11% think it will be about the same as it is now. However, nearly one-in-five (18%) are undecided.

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 The survey of 1,000 Adults was conducted on November 27-28, 2011 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.