Poll: 66% of Americans Say We’re in a Recession or Worse

Half of Americans agree the U.S. economy is in a recession, despite the Biden administration’s dismissal, a recent Suffolk University/USA TODAY survey found.

The survey asked respondents to indicate where they believe the state of the U.S. economy lies.

Half, or 50.40 percent, agree that the U.S. is in an economic recession, compared to 18.30 percent who believe the economy is in a state of stagnation. Another 15.90 percent believe the U.S. is experiencing a depression. Less than ten percent, 9.20 percent, say the U.S. economy is in a state of recovery. 

The survey coincides with Thursday’s economic report, which found U.S. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) shrinking 0.9 percent in the second quarter of a year.

That marks two consecutive quarters of negative economic growth — a reality many consider to indicate a recession:

The economy contracted by 1.6 percent in the first quarter. Many Americans consider two straight quarters of recession to be the marker of a recession. Economists, however, rely on the determination of the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) to say when a recession starts. The NBER has a more complex and subjective definition of recessions and typically does not declare a recession until several months after it has begun.

The Biden administration, however, is denying the commonly held belief of what comprises a recession, prompting mockery from critics:

Further, the survey found that, as a result of 41-year high inflation, Americans have had to cut back on everyday habits in order to make it in Biden’s America. Over half, 58.40 percent, said they now go out to eat less often, 45.30 percent said they have had to cut back on groceries, 48 percent are driving less, and 45.40 percent have had to postpone or cancel vacation or travel plans.