Key takeaways:
More than half of Americans worry a great deal about inflation and the economy, leading most other issues: Inflation emerges as a leading public concern, with 59 percent saying they worry about it “a great deal.” It is roughly tied with the 58 percent worried a great deal about the economy.
Despite stimulus, vaccines, and a reopened economy, Americans feel as negative about President Biden’s economy as they did during the pandemic in April 2020: “Americans have grown more pessimistic about the economy over the past month, with 75 percent now saying conditions are getting worse, up from 70 percent in February and 67 percent in January. Americans’ outlook for the economy is now about tied with the most negative it has been since the early days of the pandemic in April 2020.”
Around 80 percent of Americans have viewed current economic conditions as just “only fair” or “poor” since November: Gallup summarizes its economic assessments in its Economic Confidence Index, which “registered its lowest confidence score since the pandemic began.”
More Americans believe inflation is Biden’s fault, despite his excuses: Of those Americans (68 percent) who believe inflation’s roots are chiefly noneconomic, more Americans believe it’s the fault of the government and leadership than the situation with Russia and Ukraine.
Public concern over inflation is snowballing: Inflation began rising as a public concern last fall, after being a nonissue for Americans throughout 2020… the percentage has increased more in the past month — seven percentage points to 17 percent — than in any month since the upward trend began. This increase in concern comes as the U.S. inflation rate continues to climb, and is now at its highest point in 40 years.