June 11 (UPI) -- Less than a quarter of Americans believe the economy is in good shape, but more U.S. adults say it appears to be improving, a survey said Thursday.
The Gallup poll showed just 23 percent of respondents said present economic conditions are "excellent" or "good," an increase of 1 percent from the last survey in May.
Forty-one percent said the economy is "fair" and 36 percent said it's "poor."
Thirty-three percent of respondents in Thursday's poll said the economy is improving, an increase from from 22 percent in April. Sixty-two percent said it's getting worse.
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The National Bureau of Economic Research, the official U.S. gauge, said this week the United States has been in a recession since February. The end to the record period of economic growth was brought on mostly by the coronavirus pandemic, it said.
"Knowing the economy is in a recession could send Americans' economic confidence even lower in July," Gallup said Thursday. "An almost assuredly grim second-quarter report on the gross domestic product may only exacerbate this pessimism.
"On the other hand, if the June jobs data reported next month denotes further declines in unemployment, or if this month's federal retail sales report shows a surge in consumer spending, many more Americans may believe the economy is improving."
The Labor Department surprised Wall Street last week in reporting the economy added 2 1/2 million jobs in May. Analysts had expected a loss of as many as 8 million payrolls.
Gallup's survey was taken before the surprisingly positive May jobs report.
Gallup polled more than 1,000 U.S. adults for the survey, which has a margin of error of 4 points.
