Americans’ Confidence In Economy Plummets To 17-Month Low

Americans’ confidence in the U.S. economy plummeted to a 17-month low in November, according to a Gallup survey released on Thursday.

Gallup’s Economic Confidence Index declined seven points to -30 in November, marking the lowest reading since -35 in July 2024. The survey also found that just 21% of respondents rated the current state of the U.S. economy as “excellent” or “good” in November, a slight decrease from 24% in October and the lowest percentage since March.

By comparison, 40% of those surveyed now described the current economic conditions in America as being “poor,” compared with 37% who said the same in October, according to the poll.

Less than three in 10 adults in the latest survey, or 27%, said they think the economy is improving — four percentage points below the October reading and the lowest number since July 2024 — Gallup reported. Meanwhile, roughly two-thirds of respondents — 68% — said they think the economy is worsening, the survey shows.

Additionally, American consumers now expect to spend an average of $778 on Christmas or other holiday gifts, down $229 from $1,007 in October, according to the Gallup survey. However, U.S. shoppers spent a record high $11.8 billion online during Black Friday sales this year, CBS News reported on Nov. 29, citing data from Adobe Analytics.

U.S. employers added 119,000 nonfarm payroll jobs in September, well above expectations, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data released on Nov. 20. The BLS also reported that the U.S. unemployment rate was little changed the same month at 4.4%.

Moreover, the Consumer Price Index, a measure of the price of common goods, rose 0.3% on a seasonally adjusted basis in September, after increasing 0.4% in August, the BLS reported on Oct. 24.

Some recently released surveys have indicated that many Americans are dissatisfied with President Donald Trump’s handling of the economy during his second term. Nearly half of Americans, 46%, said they thought the cost of living in the U.S. is worse than they ever recall it being previously, according to a Politico poll released Thursday.

Trump labeled himself as the “affordability president” in a Nov. 29 Truth Social post. Trump notably vowed to “make America affordable again” while on the campaign trail in 2024.

The Gallup poll’s results are based on telephone interviews conducted by ReconMR from Nov. 3-25, with a random sample of 1,321 U.S. adults, living in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. The poll’s margin of sampling error is plus or minus 4 percentage points at the 95% confidence level.