Almost Half of Americans Say the Economy is Declining and over Half Are Worried about Their Financial Situation

As the volatility continues on Wall Street, a plurality of Americans says the economy is declining while one-third of Americans say, compared to a year ago, their own personal finances have gotten worse. Just under half (45%) of U.S. adults say the economy is declining, while three in ten say it is growing and 17 percent say it is neither growing nor declining. Looking at their own personal finances, 32 percent say, compared to one year ago, their personal economic situation is worse while the same number say it is better and 31 percent say it is neither better nor worse. On top of this, over half (56%) of Americans say they are worried about their financial situation while 44 percent say they are not worried.

These are some of the results of a nationwide Harris Poll of 2,694 U.S. adults surveyed online by Harris Interactive^® between August 7 and 13, 2007.

There is a regional difference as to how people perceive the national financial situation as well as their own finances. Over half (52%) of those in the Midwest see the economy as declining and 36 percent of those in this region see their own personal economic situation as worse. Those in the West, however, are of a different mind as just under two in five (39%) see the national economy as declining and 36 percent say their personal economic situation is better compared to one year ago. In terms of being worried, almost two-thirds (63%) of those in the East say they are worried, compared to 52 percent of Southerners.

Neither the President nor Congress is given good marks by the public for their handling of the economy. Almost two-thirds (63%) view President George W. Bush’s job performance on the economy in a negative light while 71 percent view Congress’ job performance on the economy negatively. Only one-quarter (27%) view President Bush positively on the economy, while just 14 percent say the same about Congress.

As one might expect, Republicans are more likely to view the President’s performance in a positive light when compared to Democrats. Three in five Republicans (59%) give the President positive marks on his handling of the economy while 86 percent of Democrats view his performance negatively. Just one-quarter (24%) of Independents say he is doing a good job on the economy while 71 percent say it is negative. While partisans are of different mind about the President, the same is not true about Congress. Seven in ten of both Republicans and Democrats (69% and 71% respectively) as well as 79 percent of Independents view the job Congress is doing on the economy in a negative light.

When it comes to which party can do a better job handling the economy and economic issues, one-third (33%) say the Democrats can and one-quarter (27%) say the Republicans can, but two in five Americans (40%) are not sure. Two-thirds of each party says their party is the one does a better job on the economy (66% of Republicans think Republicans do a better job and 67% of Democrats think Democrats do a better job.) Over half of Independents (54%) say they are not sure, while one-quarter say the Democrats do a better job and 21 percent say the Republicans do a better job.

One specific part of financial concerns is personal debt, things like credit card and mortgage payments. One-third of Americans (35%) say that paying down their own personal debt is a problem while just over two in five (44%) say it is not a problem. One in five Americans (20%) says they have no personal debt. Over the last year, one-third (33%) say that paying down this personal debt has become harder while 28 percent say it is neither easier nor harder and 18 percent say it has become easier.

Different age groups have different attitudes when it comes to their personal debt. Almost half (47%) of Gen Xers (those aged 31-42) say paying down debt has become a problem while 41 percent of this generation say it has become harder in the past year to pay down their personal debt. This is also the generation where the fewest have no personal debt (just 8%). The youngest and oldest generations are the ones not as concerned about personal debt. Just one-quarter of Echo Boomers (those aged 18-30) and Matures (those 62 and older) say paying down personal debt is a problem for them (26% and 25% respectively). Also, Echo Boomers are also the ones with the least amount of personal debt as two in five (39%) say they have none.

"Thinking about economic issues, in general would you say the economy is…?"

Base: All adults

Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding.

"Thinking about economic issues, in general would you say the economy is…?"

Base: All adults

Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding.

"Thinking now about your own personal finances, compared to a year ago, would you say your personal economic situation is…?"

Base: All adults

Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding.

"Thinking now about your own personal finances, compared to a year ago, would you say your personal economic situation is…?"

Base: All adults

Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding.

"In general, when you think of your financial situation would you say you are…?"

Base: All adults

Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding.

"In general, when you think of your financial situation would you say you are…?"

Base: All adults

Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding.

"How would you rate the job President George W. Bush has done in handling the economy over the past several months?"

Base: All adults

Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding.

"How would you rate the job Congress has done in handling the economy over the past several months?"

Base: All adults

Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding.

"-" = no response

* = less than 0.5%

"Who do you think does a better job of handling the economy and economic issues?"

Base: All adults

Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding.

"How much of a problem is paying down your own personal debt, such as debt from credit cards and/or mortgages?"

Base: All adults

Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding.

"How much of a problem is paying down your own personal debt, such as debt from credit cards and/or mortgages?"

Base: All adults

Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding.

"Has paying down your personal debt become easier or harder in the last year?"

Base: All adults

Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding.

"Has paying down your personal debt become easier or harder in the last year?"

Base: All adults

Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding.

This Harris Poll® was conducted online within the United States between August 7 and 13, 2007 among 2,694 adults (aged 18 and over). Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents’ propensity to be online.

All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, Harris Interactive avoids the words "margin of error" as they are misleading. All that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100% response rates. These are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this ideal.

Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in Harris Interactive surveys. The data have been weighted to reflect the composition of the adult population. Because the sample is based on those who agreed to participate in the Harris Interactive panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.

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