Old North News

A recent poll by McLaughlin & Associates found that most U.S. residents believe the country’s economy is on the wrong track, and North Carolina is no exception. 

In its monthly survey of national trends related to the American political environment, McLaughlin & Associates seeks insight into voters’ outlooks on and opinions related to several current topics. The most recent survey was conducted from Jan. 13 to 18 and polled 1,000 likely general election voters.

According to the results, 65% of participants in the South region of the U.S. believe the country is on the wrong track, whereas 33% say it is headed in the right direction.

Nationally, poll participants do not hold an optimistic view of the nation’s economy. As of January, 62% of participants indicated they believe the economy is getting worse, while only 30% say it is getting better. 

At the beginning of the Biden Administration, the general opinion of the U.S. economy had less of a gap. A year ago, 52% of Americans believed the economy was worsening while 42% said it was improving.

Despite the seemingly pessimistic public opinion on the country’s economy over Biden’s first year in office, predictions indicate strong favor for the rise in employment rates across North Carolina this year. 

“The real impact of the COVID recession has been on employment,” an economic forecast from Inside UNC Charlotte said of North Carolina. 

According to a report, the southern state is expected to experience a 2.7% employment increase from 2021 to 2022. While the state’s unemployment rate started at 5.9% in 2021, it decreased throughout the year, ending at 4.1%.

This comes as survey results reveal 52% of participants believe the country is currently in a recession, while 40% believe the U.S. economy is not in a recession. 

These numbers are drastically different from those of January 2021. When asked in March 2021, less than 50% of Americans felt the U.S. economy was not in a recession.