Rasmussen Poll: 61% Say Economy Worsened in Last Year

Concerns about the U.S. economy remain high, but voters now rate President Joe Biden slightly better on the issue than they did last fall.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone and online survey finds that 88% of likely U.S. voters are concerned about the economy, including 60% who are very concerned. Only 11% are not concerned about the economy. These findings are nearly unchanged since last October, according to Rasmussen.

Biden rates good or excellent on his handling of the economy from 42% – up from 36% last October – while 45% now give him a poor rating on the issue.

But 61% say that over the past year, the U.S. economy has worsened, compared to 26% who said it’s improved, while 22% say the economy has stayed about the same over the past year.

The U.S. inflation rate fell to 4.9% as of March 31, compared to 8.54% a year ago. The Federal Reserve has raised interest rates sharply to tame inflation.

The unemployment rate is steady at 3.5%, but a majority of U.S. business economists are predicting a recession. There have been several bank collapses in the U.S. and abroad.

While majorities of every political category — 85% of Democrats, 93% of Republicans, and 87% of unaffiliated voters — are at least somewhat concerned about the economy, significantly more Republicans (71%) than Democrats (52%) or unaffiliated voters (58%) are very concerned about the economy.

While 40% of Democrats say the U.S. economy has improved over the past year, only 19% of Republicans and unaffiliated voters agree. Among Republicans 64% say the economy has deteriorated in the past year, as do 34% of Democrats, and 55% of unaffiliated voters.

A majority of Democrats, 69%, rate Biden good or excellent for his handling of the economy but that opinion is shared by just 23% of Republicans and 31% of unaffiliated voters. Republicans (66%), 18% of Democrats, and 52% of unaffiliated voters give Biden a poor rating on the economy.

Whites at 47%, 63% of black voters, and 52% of other minorities said that, over the past year, the U.S. economy has worsened. More black voters (72%) than whites (56%) or other minorities (66%) are very concerned about the economy.

There is not much of a “gender gap” on this issue, although men (48%) are somewhat more likely than women voters (42%) to give Biden a poor rating on his handling of the economy, according to Rasmussen.

College graduates are significantly more likely to say the economy has improved over the past year.

Voters under 40 are more likely than their elders to be concerned about the economy. However, while a majority (51%) of voters under 40 rate Biden good or excellent for his handling of the economy, that opinion is shared by only 38% of voters ages 40-64 and 37% of those 65 and older.

Government employees (42%) are more likely than private sector workers (33%) or retirees (19%) to think the economy has improved over the past year.

Breaking down the electorate by income categories, 47% of voters in the highest bracket — earning over $200,000 a year — say the economy has risen over the past year. However, more than 60% of voters with annual incomes below $100,000 say the economy has deteriorated.

The survey of 950 U.S. likely voters was conducted on April 9-11, 2023, by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC.