How is the American economy doing? Disparity of opinion between Republicans and Democrats-Fortune 中文 网



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Already this summer, when US economic data recovered from the lowest point, the so-called “V-shaped rebound” sparked heated discussions. Today, the United States has entered the dead of winter, and while vaccines are gradually on the market, they have not spread widely. Americans seem not to have enough confidence in the direction of economic development, and most people believe that the situation is getting worse.

According to a survey released by Fortune and Surveymonkey between November 30 and December 1, more than half (54%) of Americans believe the country’s economic situation is deteriorating, up from 52% in August.

However, each individual has a different view of the economy and 26% of those surveyed still believe that the economy is improving. The views of Republicans contrast sharply with those of Democrats: about 50% of Republicans are optimistic about the economic situation, and this proportion represents only 9% of Democrats. It’s worth noting that Republicans in general were optimistic about the economy before the general election. In the survey between August 31 and September 1, 62% believed the economy would improve.

Across all income groups, half of people believe the economy is in decline.

More than ten months have passed since the outbreak of the epidemic in the United States, all aspects of the economy have been badly affected, and internal pessimism has spread.

The only gratifying thing is that the real economic rebound in the United States was significantly better than economists and analysts expected. Key data such as retail spending and the unemployment rate have also continued to improve, but the rate of improvement has slowed significantly in recent months. The latest US unemployment report on December 4 showed that the country added 245,000 jobs in November, and the unemployment rate fell slightly from 6.9% to 6.7%.

“Although the recovery has lost some motivation, it continues,” Bank of America chief financial officer Michel Meyer recently told Fortune.

There are also some economists who insist that the current American economy must have an extra boost to avoid stagnation. If Congress does not issue a new rescue plan on December 26, about 13 million people will no longer be able to receive unemployment benefits and millions of people could be expelled in January of next year.

Moody’s chief economist Mark Zandi emphasized in an interview with Fortune: “ If the bailout plan breaks down, the recent unemployment report will undoubtedly imply that our economy will start to regress, large numbers of employees will once again be unemployed and the unemployment rate will rise again. He believes that the “difficult execution” of the new round of the economic stimulus plan will likely lead to a “second recession” in the US economy.

Although the US Congress is nearing the deadline for negotiations, the dawn has not yet come. From December 5 to 10, the number of people claiming unemployment benefits increased from 716,000 last week to 835,000, far exceeding expectations. (Chinese network of fortune)

Fortune and Surveymonkey surveyed 2,247 US adults between November 30 and December 1, with a tolerance of ± 3 percentage points.

Compiler: Chen Yixuan

There was a lot of talk about the so-called “V-shaped” recovery in the summer, when economic data soared from lows earlier this year. Now, as the United States enters a winter with a new, but not yet widely distributed vaccine, Americans seem less confident that the economy is heading in the right direction – in fact, most think things are getting worse.

According to a recent Fortune-SurveyMonkey survey conducted between November 30 and December 1, more than half (54%) believe that the current national economic situation is worsening, up from 52% in August.

Yet even though narratives about the economy itself have been mixed, about 26% of Americans surveyed believe the economy is improving. And among those who identify as Republicans and Democrats, the contrast was stark: 50% of Republicans believed the economy was improving, compared to just 9% of Democrats. Notably, however, Republicans were much more optimistic about the economy before the election, when 62% of those surveyed between August 31 and September 1 thought the economy was improving.

Across the income tiers, meanwhile, at least about half of all income groups believed the economy was going the wrong way.

Almost ten months after a pandemic that has wreaked havoc on the United States economy, it is not difficult to understand why many Americans have a bleak outlook.

To be sure, the economic rebound was better than many economists and analysts expected, and key data points such as retail spending and the unemployment rate have continued to improve, albeit at a much slower pace in recent months. The most recent unemployment report from December 4 showed that only 245,000 jobs were added in November, slightly reducing the unemployment rate to 6.7% from 6.9%.

“The recovery has lost some momentum, but it has continued,” Michelle Meyer, Bank of America’s chief financial officer, told Fortune recently.

But at the current juncture, the recovery is starting to stagnate and needs an extra boost to continue or risk a further decline, some economists argue. Approximately 13 million people will lose pandemic unemployment benefits on December 26 without another aid package to extend them, and millions may be vulnerable to evictions in January.

“If we don’t get that help, [the recent unemployment] The report suggests that the economy will start to pull back, we’re going to start losing jobs, and unemployment will start to rise again, “Moody’s chief economist Mark Zandi told Fortune recently. In fact, he argues without additional relief from the economy. Congress, this is very likely to go down in history as a double dip recession. “

However, that relief has yet to materialize, even as Congress nears the deadline to pass a bill. And on December 10, weekly jobless claims for the week ending December 5 rose to 835,000 from 716,000 the previous week, more than expected.

Fortune-SurveyMonkey surveyed 2,247 American adults between November 30 and December 1. The margin of error is 3 percentage points.

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