A rising share of Americans say the economy is getting worse

More Americans say the economy is getting worse than have said so at any time in the past four years, the latest Economist / YouGov Poll finds. 63% of Americans say the economy is getting worse, the highest share to say that since summer 2022 and more than had said that at any time during either of Donald Trump's two terms as president. Only 15% say the economy is getting better.

Democrats are much more likely than Republicans to say the economy is getting worse (87% vs. 34%), while Republicans are more likely than Democrats to say the economy is getting better (36% vs. 3%). This is part of a longstanding pattern of more positive views of the economy's direction among supporters of the president's party and more negative ones among the president's opponents.

Republicans overall are closely divided about the U.S. economy's direction, with 36% saying it's getting better and 34% saying it's getting worse. But among the 62% of Republicans who say they're MAGA supporters, 50% say the economy is getting better and 18% say it's getting worse. Among the 24% of Republicans who say they're not MAGA supporters, 11% say it's getting better and 65% say it's getting worse — an even more negative outlook than among Americans overall.

While majorities of Americans of all ages say the economy is getting worse, Americans 65 and older are less likely to view the economy negatively (22% say it's getting better and 57% say it's getting worse) than are younger Americans, especially those between 30 and 44 (12% vs. 69%).

Since the beginning of March, the share of Republicans who say the economy is getting worse has roughly doubled from 18% to 34%, a 16-point jump that far exceeds the 3-point jump among Democrats in the same time period. The share of MAGA Republicans saying the economy is getting worse has risen from 11% to 18% over that time. The share of non-MAGA Republicans has risen from 30% to 65%, a 36-point jump. (The sample size for Republicans who say they're unsure if they are MAGA supporters is small, but negative views about the economy among this group also have risen sharply since the start of the year.)

Last week, 67% of Independents and 42% of non-MAGA Republicans said the economy is getting worse. Today, 67% of Independents and 65% of non-MAGA Republicans say this.

Image: Getty (David Espejo)

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