Poll: Most Americans Uneasy About the U.S. Economy

CBS News Poll analysis by the CBS News Polling Unit: Sarah Dutton, Jennifer De Pinto, Fred Backus and Anthony Salvanto.

Most Americans believe the U.S. is still in an economic recession, but their optimism about the economic future is increasing, according to a new CBS News poll.

Americans have rated the U.S. economy poorly for three years, and it remains the most important issue facing the country, according to the poll, conducted Feb. 11 - 14.

Although the National Bureau of Economic Research stated that the most recent economic recession ended in June 2009, most Americans do not see it that way. Just 37 percent of Americans think the recession is nearly over and that the recovery has begun. As many as 57 percent do not think that's true.

Less than half of Americans express confidence about economic conditions in the country over the next few months, and 60 percent are at least somewhat uneasy about the near term economic future.

Nevertheless, two years ago confidence was lower; just 32 percent felt confident and 67 percent were uneasy.

More Americans are confident about their own finances; 60 percent are at least somewhat confident, a significant increase from 47 percent two years ago.

Three in four Americans continue to view the condition of the national economy as at least somewhat bad - about the same as last month - while over six in 10 say the same about their local job market.

Nearly a third of all Americans think the national economy is getting better, while 22 percent think it is getting worse and 45 percent think it is staying the same. The percentage that sees it improving is the highest it has been since last April. When looking at their local job market, more than half - 56 percent - don't see any change, though more think it is getting better (28 percent) than getting worse (12 percent).

Overall, nearly six in 10 Americans are at least somewhat concerned that they or someone else in their household will be out of work and looking for a job within the next 12 months, including a third who are very concerned. Concern is down slightly from last month, and now is around the level it was a year ago.

The economy and jobs remains the most important problem facing the country today, far ahead of any other problem volunteered by Americans nationwide. Forty-eight percent of Americans mention the economy and jobs, followed by the budget deficit (7 percent) and health care (6 percent). Still, the percentage that chooses the economy and jobs has been dropping since it reached an all-time high of 60 percent last September.

Gas Prices

With the price of gasoline higher than it has been at any time over the past two years, 59 percent of Americans say that higher gas prices personally affect them a lot, while just 17 percent say higher gas prices don't affect them much or at all.

Most Americans, 52 percent, say that recent gas price increases have caused financial hardship for their household, including 29 percent who say this financial hardship is serious. Even more Americans reported financial hardship when gas prices hit an all-time high in July 2008.

Not surprisingly, lower-income Americans are feeling the effects of higher gas prices far more than those with higher incomes. Nearly half of Americans making $30,000 a year or less say higher gas prices are causing serious financial hardship in their household, compared to just 13 percent of Americans making over $100,000 a year.

Looking at the country as a whole, most Americans continue to say the country is off on the wrong track (58 percent), but 36 percent say it is heading in the right direction - the highest number in about a year.

More from the poll:

Poll: Most Want U.S. Out of Egypt's Affairs
Poll: Most Oppose Cutting Funding for Health Care Reforms
Poll: Americans Unconvinced Economy on Rebound
Full CBS News Poll

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This poll was conducted by telephone on February 11-14, 2011 among 1031 adults nationwide. Phone numbers were dialed from samples of both standard land-line and cell phones. The error due to sampling for results based on the entire sample could be plus or minus three percentage points. The error for subgroups is higher. This poll release conforms to the Standards of Disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.

[mb91764]

Our goverment is like a dumba$$ kid with a unlimited creditcard.They could careless about how much money they are spending,they are not going to have to pay it back.

[RobAla]

Let's put this in perspective: A 2005 Washington Post article stated that had a "$318.62 billion deficit" for the 2004 year. This was for the entire YEAR!!!!!! Today, the idiots in Washington are over spending at the rate of $222.5 billion IN A MONTH!!!!!! This is totally insane.

The CBO stated that this deficit spending is "unsustainable". What does Washington not understand about the word "unsustainable"??????

Washington is out of control. And some people wonder what some Americans mean by the term "take our country back"??? We have to take this nation out of the hands of irresponsible fools, who are running this once great nation into the ground. To some degree we will have to wait for 2012. However, the need is now. Call and write your representative and give him/her an ear full! Washington is drunk on spending away our future. Maybe millions of phone calls and emails will wake them up a little.

At one time we had responsible adults running the country. I am not talking about one party against the other in this matter - both parties are at fault - and we need to shake both of them up. We have a window of opportunity to turn this country around and establish policies that will begin to reverse this idiotic federal spending trend before the country comes to ruin. But we have to make hard changes now.

[RobAla]

Shazammm!!!!! Who would have thought that Americans are concerned about the economy? Who would know????

[edleweiss]

Plans to governments plans to the public as more benefits to programs are being stopped or ended and states financially broken in fiscal debits! Funds slashes for to "The Parenthood,Planned" and everywhere what will be is 'another P.P. kind'or type ,for to open because 'I can not believe this at all'! Substition is something from the Health Plans to go ahead in some ways allowances in emergency care for more abortions; (note from some States is ended in Health plans programs.)

[ltomkins9694]

Until reading this article I had no idea that the recession officially ended in 2009. I was definitely in the category of Americans who thought the recession was only just coming to a close and we were beginning the recovery. I think this poll very accurately shows how people feel about the growth of our economy.

[RedWings_ninety_one]

Because I am only 18 and still live with my parents to save money, I measure how I feel about the economy by the price of gas and the stock of Crude Oil. Not doing well right now, so how do you think I feel about our economy...like s***

[noloyalisti]

Well duh, the firm father figure conservatives, starting with Reagan have decimated the Middle Class along with democracy (the founding fathers knew these went hand in hand).

The billionaires have literally set the table for the final push. I am afraid we will need another crash or two before we do our own Egypt here. It can be done peacefully if we all acknowledge the REAL ENEMY: the evil filthy rich and the giant corporations they run.

We can fix this but we have to acknowledge the truth and unite together. The means and the methods are well known and they work.

[discussthis]

"evil filthy rich" and the "giant corporations".
Bullet points from 0bammer speeches showing little intellect when repeated by buffoons.
Remember 0bammer rescued giant corporations with his "stimulus" (really taxpayer's) dollars? Who hires middle class workers, especially the darlings of the left, the unions?
Who makes airplanes, trains, cars, the equipment and material that create our infrastructure; government or mom and pop shops? No, giant corporations.
noloyalist -- you and your ilk are posting propoganda worthy of Mao's Little Red Book. Mindless drivel.

[slatep]

Uneasy is barely the word for it.
The middle class of this country has been carrying the burden for the entire US for years.
Now, Washington is doing their level best to destroy us.
We need to do what the people of Egypt did; PEACEFULLY demonstrate agains the government,; en masse; and show the politicos we're not who they think we are.
Nobody can make a doormat out of you unless you are willing to lie down.!
STAND UP FOR YOURSELVES AMERICA
I stressed "peacefully" because I'm afraid if this goes on much longer; there will be riots.

[thinking-voter]

I have to chuckle over the disconnect between the mistrust of the country's finances and the trust of their own finances when one is dependent on the other. That telltale 20% gap is is why politicians of any persuasion can manipulate voters.

[euge005]

Uneasy? Heck yes. The group that caused 90% of the problem and obstructed any progress to fix their blunders just won the House. But as long as the suckers keep falling for their lies we can expect no better.

[RobAla]

It was a public that was "uneasy" about the direction of the country that put Republicans in charge of the House. President Obama, Pelosi, and Reid have raised the spending levels of the federal government to ridiculously high percentages. In 2008 we were going around $500 billion in the hole each year. Now we are going $1.5 trillion in the hole each year. This is insanity.

[thinking-voter]

RobAla: Most of those "uneasy" Americans who saw the country going in the wrong direction flat out don't understand what cutting spending can do in a recession.

Frankly, the rest of the Americans ought to be uneasy about that.