The June 2012 Gallup Economic Confidence Index indicates that 56% of Americans think the US economy is getting worse and just 38% think it is improving. Only 15% of Americans think the current economy is either excellent or good, while 41% believe it is poor. Overall, the index reading for the current state of the economy is -26 and the reading for the economic outlook is -18. The combined index reading is -22, down another -5 points from May, but well above the -52 reading in mid-2011.
Higher income Americans posted the steepest drop in confidence. Among those earning $90,000/year or more, the confidence index fell -8 points to -17, and among those earning $60,000 to $89,999/year, the index fell -10 points to -21. The index reading for the top group is at its lowest point of the year so far, and the reading for the second group is within 3 points of its 2012 low.
Last year at this time, the US was in the middle of a contentious debate over the federal debt and confidence was at its lowest point since early 2009. This year the continuing financial crisis in Europe, combined with slow growth in the US economy are probably the main contributing factors to the low confidence readings.
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