Americans still feel worse about the economy
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The US economy may still be growing, but voters are not feeling the recovery. The Economist and YouGov’s tracker showed 58% of US adults saying the economy was getting worse in late April 2026, and YouGov’s latest write up says that rose to 61% in early May, the highest reading since 2022.
That gap between data and mood is now the central economic story. Growth figures can look respectable while households remain focused on prices, rent, borrowing costs and job security. Inflation has faded from its peak, but the memory of higher prices has not faded from daily life.
This is why political arguments about a strong economy often fall flat. People do not experience GDP. They experience the weekly shop, the mortgage payment and the fear that work is becoming less secure. Until those pressures ease, America’s economy will keep looking better on paper than it feels in public.
Source: YouGov
What worries me is that we often treat the economy as if it is only a machine of output, jobs, prices and interest rates. Those things matter enormously. But they do not fully capture how people experience economic life.
A society can be productive and still feel anxious. It can be automated and still feel lonely. It can avoid recession and still leave people wondering why security feels so far away.
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