Economic Attitudes Inch Upward

NEW YORK , N.Y. – November 25, 2014 – It’s been a rough month for Democrats in general and for President Obama in particular. The midterm elections turned into a Republican rally, and President Obama is under attack from conservatives who feel his executive actions on immigration are overstepping the limits of presidential authority. But while many things may be looking low, it’s worth noting that positive attitudes toward the job the president is doing on the economy are up a bit, to 35%. This represents a two point increase over last month and six points’ growth compared to September, as well as being the highest this rating has been since May (when it was also at 35%).

Looking along political lines, nearly two-thirds of Democrats (64%) give the President positive ratings for the overall job he’s doing on the economy, while 94% of Republicans give him negative marks. Just over one fourth of Independents (26%) give the President positive ratings on his handling of the economy, while just under three-fourths (74%) rate him negatively.

These are some of the results of The Harris Poll® of 2,276 adults surveyed online between November 12 and 17, 2014.

Expectations slide toward stability at home and across the country

When asked about their expectations regarding their household’s financial condition in the next six months, 22% of Americans say they expect it to be better – a marginal improvement over 21% last month. More notable, however, is the drop in the percentage of Americans expecting their household financial condition to worsen – from 26% last month to 21% this month. This corresponds to an increase in the percentage expecting it will remain the same, from 53% to 57%.

Similarly, expectations that the economy overall will improve have grown very slightly, from 26% to 27%, while the expectation that it will get worse has seen a more notable drop (from 29% to 22%) and expectations that it will stay the same have grown from 45% to 51%.

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TABLE 1

PRESIDENT OBAMA’S JOB RATING ON THE ECONOMY – TREND

Now, turning to something different, how would you rate the overall job that President Barack Obama is doing on the economy?

Base: All adults

Note: Percentages may not add up exactly to 100% due to rounding; In February 2012 Not at all sure was offered as a response choice and 4% responded in that way.

TABLE 2

PRESIDENT OBAMA’S JOB RATING ON THE ECONOMY – By Political Party and Ideology

Now, turning to something different, how would you rate the overall job that President Barack Obama is doing on the economy?

Base: All adults

Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding

TABLE 3

EXPECTATIONS FOR HOUSEHOLD FINANCIAL CONDITION IN NEXT SIX MONTHS

Thinking about your household’s financial condition, do you expect it to be better or worse in the next 6 months?

Base: All adults

Note: Percentages may not add to 100% due to rounding;

TABLE 4

EXPECTATIONS FOR THE ECONOMY IN THE COMING YEAR – TREND

In the coming year, do you expect the economy to…?

Base: All adults

Note: Percentages may not add up exactly to 100% due to rounding

TABLE 5

EXPECTATIONS FOR THE ECONOMY IN THE COMING YEAR – By Political Party and Generation

In the coming year, do you expect the economy to…?

Base: All adults

Note: Percentages may not add up to 100% due to rounding

Methodology

This Harris Poll was conducted online, in English, within the United States between November 12 and 17, 2014 among 2,276 adults (aged 18 and over). Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents’ propensity to be online.

All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, The Harris Poll avoids the words margin of error as they are misleading. All that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100% response rates. These are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this ideal.

Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in Harris Poll surveys. The data have been weighted to reflect the composition of the adult population. Because the sample is based on those who agreed to participate in our panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.

These statements conform to the principles of disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.

The results of this Harris Poll may not be used in advertising, marketing or promotion without the prior written permission of The Harris Poll.

The Harris Poll^® #106, November 25, 2014

By Larry Shannon-Missal, Managing Editor, The Harris Poll

About The Harris Poll®

Begun in 1963, The Harris Poll is one of the longest running surveys measuring public opinion in the U.S. and is highly regarded throughout the world. The nationally representative polls, conducted primarily online, measure the knowledge, opinions, behaviors and motivations of the general public. New and trended polls on a wide variety of subjects including politics, the economy, healthcare, foreign affairs, science and technology, sports and entertainment, and lifestyles are published weekly. For more information, or to see other recent polls, visit the Harris Poll News Room.