Harris Poll Reveals Majority of Americans Believe US Economy is in Recession

Recent polling conducted by The Harris Poll and released this week reveals that a majority of Americans believe that the United States is currently experiencing an economic recession, despite positive trends in the market.

The survey, conducted on behalf of The Guardian newspaper, found that over half of Americans perceive the U.S. economy as contracting, in a state of recession, with the stock market index declining, among other economic concerns.

• 55% believe the economy is shrinking.
• 56% think the U.S. is in a recession.
• 49% believe the S&P 500 is down for the year.
• 49% think unemployment is the highest in 50 years.
• 58% blamed President Joe Biden for the state of the economy.

Despite these perceptions, The Guardian points out that the U.S. gross domestic product is on the rise, the S&P 500 stock market index has seen a 12% increase this year and a 24% increase last year, and unemployment is at its lowest rate in nearly 50 years, at under 4%.

“What Americans are expressing in this data is: ‘While economists may indicate an improvement, we are not feeling it in our daily lives,'” said John Gerzema, CEO of The Harris Poll. “It takes time to undo the uncertainty of the past four years. Leaders need to recognize this and involve the public in the process.”

The survey polled 2,119 adults across the U.S. from May 10-12, with no margin of error specified.