Americans’ views of the nation’s economy remain largely negative. And U.S. adults continue to express concern over the price of food and consumer goods and increasing worries about housing prices and the availability of jobs.
A quarter rate economic conditions as excellent or good, while 37% say they are only fair and 38% rate conditions as poor.
Views of the economy have fluctuated only modestly in the past year. In May, for example, 23% expressed positive views of the economy.
Economic ratings remain partisan. About four-in-ten Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents (41%) rate economic conditions positively, up slightly from May (37%). That compares with 10% of Republicans and Republican leaners.
Positive views of the economy plummeted during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic and have been more negative than positive since then. Fewer than a third of Americans have rated economic conditions as excellent or good over the last several years, although current views are somewhat more positive than they were in the summer of 2022 and throughout 2023.
Top economic concerns: Food and consumer prices, housing costs
Nearly three-quarters of Americans (74%) say they are very concerned about the price of food and consumer goods. Other economic concerns – housing costs and job availability – have increased since 2023.
There’s been little change in concerns over prices for food and consumer goods. Since 2022, at least 70% of Americans have said they are very concerned over the cost of food and consumer goods.
Concerns about housing costs have grown over the last year. The share of Americans who express a high degree of concern over the cost of housing has risen 8 percentage points since April 2023, from 61% to 69%.
Job concerns have increased. Four-in-ten Americans say they are very concerned about “people who want to work being unable to find jobs.” That is 9 points higher than in January and 13 points higher than in April 2023.
A relatively small share is concerned about the stock market. The share of Americans who say they are very concerned about how the stock market is doing has risen from 18% in January to 24% today. Concerns about the stock markets are identical to where they stood in April 2023.
Partisanship and economic concerns
While there are sizable differences in economic ratings, majorities of both Republicans and Democrats say they are very concerned about food and consumer prices, as well as housing costs.
Still, Republicans are roughly 20 points more likely than Democrats to say they are very concerned about prices for food and consumer goods (85% vs. 64%). The gap is narrower in concerns over housing costs (72% of Republicans, 66% of Democrats).
Roughly four in-ten Republicans (42%) and Democrats (38%) express a great deal of concern about people wanting jobs but being unable to find them.
And Republicans (31%) are nearly twice as likely as Democrats (17%) to say they are very concerned about how the stock market is doing.
