Poll: Record number of Americans optimistic about personal finances

Feb. 5 (UPI) -- A record number of Americans are optimistic about the present and future states of their pocketbook -- a sentiment that history says will almost certainly work in President Donald Trump's favor in November, pollster Gallup said in a new survey Wednesday.

According to the survey, nearly six in 10 U.S. adults said they are now better off financially than they were a year ago-- an increase of 10 percent over the same survey last year. The 59 percent mark ties the all-time high recorded by Gallup in January 1999, a time the U.S. economy was riding on the dot-com boom. Twenty percent said they are worse off than last year.

Nearly three-quarters of respondents said they will be better off a year from now, the highest mark since 1977. Twelve percent answered that they expect to be worse off at the start of 2021.

The figures continue a trend that started in 2018 in which at least half of Americans have said their financial position is better than it was a year ago.

Gallup said the fiscal optimism should bode well for Trump's re-election bid, as his administration will get credit for the strong domestic economy and voters traditionally tend to vote more with their pocketbooks than any other issue.

Job growth and U.S. markets have been steady since Trump took office and unemployment remains at a 50-year low.

Wednesday, ADP and Moody's Analytics reported the United States added almost 300,000 jobs in January, the greatest monthly gain in five years. The Labor Department will release its jobs report Friday.

Gallup polled more than 1,000 adults for the survey, which has a margin of error of 4 points.