The majority of Americans believe that their household’s financial position will not improve in the next six months.
Most Americans aren’t that optimistic about the future of the economy.
According to new data presented by the Harris Poll report, titled “Half of Americans Believe Their Household’s Financial Condition Will Remain the Same in the Next Six Months”, of 2,242 U.S. adults:
- 24 percent believe that their household financial condition will improve in the next six months.
- 26 percent think their household financial condition will worsen.
- 49 percent think that their condition will remain the same.
These results are a little less optimistic than last month’s poll, in which 53 percent said they expected their household’s financial condition to remain the same.
EXPECTATIONS FOR HOUSEHOLD FINANCIAL CONDITION IN NEXT SIX MONTHS
“Thinking about your household’s financial condition, do you expect it to be better or worse in the next 6 months?”
|
2013 |
||||||
|
Feb. |
March |
April |
May |
June |
July |
|
|
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
|
| BETTER (NET) |
23 |
21 |
22 |
26 |
24 |
24 |
| Much better |
3 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
4 |
5 |
| Somewhat better |
20 |
17 |
18 |
20 |
20 |
19 |
| Will remain the same |
50 |
49 |
49 |
50 |
53 |
49 |
| WORSE (NET) |
27 |
30 |
28 |
24 |
23 |
26 |
| Somewhat worse |
20 |
21 |
20 |
18 |
17 |
18 |
| Much worse |
7 |
9 |
8 |
6 |
6 |
9 |
Base: All adults
Source: The Harris Poll
The President’s job approval number is dropping and his rating on the economy is very poor. 67 percent of Americans gave Obama negative marks on the economy.
In addition, the results revealed that 44 percent of Americans anticipate that the economy will stay the same over the coming year, while 29 percent say the economy will improve and 27 percent believe the economy worsen.
What factors influence how Americans are doing financially?
There are many different influences on how Americans are doing financially and there is always going to be something to blame.
So what do most Americans believe influences their financial position the most?
Results of the poll reveal that 38 percent believe that Congress strongly influences their position and over a third say that Wall Street, the President, and the Federal Reserve have a lot of influence. In addition, thirty percent believe that large corporations have a great deal of influence while only 20 percent say that local governments do.
WHO INFLUENCES AMERICANS FINANCIALLY*
|
INFLUENCE (NET) |
A great deal of influence |
Some influence |
NO INFLUENCE (NET) |
Not much of an influence |
No influence at all |
||
| Congress |
% |
78 |
38 |
40 |
22 |
14 |
8 |
| State government |
% |
76 |
28 |
48 |
24 |
16 |
8 |
| The Federal Reserve |
% |
75 |
35 |
40 |
25 |
16 |
9 |
| Wall Street |
% |
74 |
34 |
40 |
26 |
16 |
10 |
| Large corporations |
% |
71 |
31 |
40 |
29 |
19 |
10 |
| The President |
% |
70 |
34 |
37 |
30 |
21 |
9 |
| Local government |
% |
64 |
20 |
44 |
36 |
26 |
10 |
| Small businesses |
% |
44 |
10 |
34 |
56 |
38 |
17 |
What’s the American economic outlook?
Although it’s difficult to determine how the economy will shape over the coming year, there is promising news. Recently the U.S. Federal Reserve issued a report stating that the U.S. economy is improving thanks to improved labor market conditions strengthening of the housing sector.