What Americans think about the Economy

Fewer than one-third of Americans say things are going better in the country now than they were a year ago, and nearly half say it’s only going to get worse in the coming year, according to a new survey by The AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

They are somewhat more optimistic about the current state of the national economy: 39 percent say it’s better and 36 percent say it’s about the same compared to a year ago. …

The nationwide poll was conducted February 15-19, 2017 [Editor’s Note: ​Conducted February 15-19, 2018, per the poll’s methodology statement] using the AmeriSpeak® Panel, the probability-based panel of NORC at the University of Chicago. CONT.

AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research