As American Turn Less Optimistic About the National Economy
George W. Bush's overall job approval rating has returned to its
lowest point in Bush's presidency as Americans again turn less
optimistic about the national economy according to the latest survey
from the American Research Group. Among all Americans, 36% approve
of the way Bush is handling his job as president and 58% disapprove.
When it comes to Bush's handling of the economy, 34% approve and 60%
disapprove.
Among Americans registered to vote, 37% approve of the way Bush
is handling his job as president and 58% disapprove. When it comes
to the way Bush is handling the economy, 35% of registered voters
approve of the way Bush is handling the economy and 60% disapprove.
A total of 14% of Americans say the national economy is getting
better, which is down from 30% in December and 52% say the national
economy is getting worse, which is up from 40% in December. When
asked about the national economy a year from now, 15% say it will be
better, which is down from 28% in December, and 62% say it will be
worse, which is up from 39% in December.
The results presented here are based on 1,100 completed telephone
interviews conducted among a nationwide random sample of adults 18
years and older. The interviews were completed January 19 through
22, 2006. The theoretical margin of error for the total sample is
plus or minus 2.6 percentage points, 95% of the time, on questions
where opinion is evenly split.
Overall, 36% of Americans say that they approve of the way George
W. Bush is handling his job as president, 58% disapprove, and 6% are
undecided.
| Bush job approval | Approve | Disapprove | Undecided |
| Jan 2006 | 36% | 58% | 6% |
| Dec 2005 | 40% | 56% | 4% |
| Nov 2005 | 36% | 58% | 6% |
| Oct 2005 | 38% | 55% | 7% |
| Sep 2005 | 37% | 57% | 6% |
| Aug 2005 | 36% | 58% | 6% |
| July 2005 | 42% | 52% | 6% |
| Jun 2005 | 42% | 53% | 5% |
| May 2005 | 43% | 51% | 6% |
| Apr 2005 | 44% | 50% | 6% |
| Mar 2005 | 47% | 48% | 5% |
| Feb 2005 | 49% | 45% | 6% |
| Jan 2005 | 51% | 44% | 5% |
Among Republicans (33% of adults registered to vote in the
survey), 78% approve of the way Bush is handling his job and 17%
disapprove. Among Democrats (37% of adults registered to vote in the
survey), 11% approve and 83% disapprove of the way Bush is handling
his job. Among Independents (30% of adults registered to vote in the
survey), 24% approve and 71% disapprove of the way Bush is handling
his job as president.
Overall, 34% of Americans say that they approve of the way George
W. Bush is handling the economy, 60% disapprove, and 6% are
undecided. Among registered voters, 35% approve and 60% disapprove
of the way Bush is handling the economy.
| Bush handling the economy | Approve | Disapprove | Undecided |
| Jan 2006 | 34% | 60% | 6% |
| Dec 2005 | 36% | 59% | 5% |
| Nov 2005 | 31% | 62% | 7% |
| Oct 2005 | 34% | 59% | 7% |
| Sep 2005 | 34% | 60% | 6% |
| Aug 2005 | 33% | 62% | 5% |
| July 2005 | 38% | 54% | 8% |
| Jun 2005 | 37% | 59% | 4% |
| May 2005 | 37% | 57% | 6% |
| Apr 2005 | 38% | 56% | 6% |
| Mar 2005 | 41% | 53% | 6% |
| Feb 2005 | 42% | 51% | 7% |
| Jan 2005 | 44% | 50% | 6% |
Among Republicans, 73% approve of the way Bush is handling the
economy and 22% disapprove. Among Democrats, 84% disapprove of the
way Bush is handling the economy and 11% approve. Among
Independents, 22% approve and 73% disapprove of the way Bush is
handling the economy.
A total of 14% of Americans say that the national economy is
getting better, 31% say it is staying the same, and 52% say the
national economy is getting worse.
| National economy |
Getting better |
Staying the same |
Getting worse |
Undecided |
| Jan 2006 | 14% | 31% | 52% | 3% |
| Dec 2005 | 30% | 27% | 40% | 3% |
| Nov 2005 | 13% | 36% | 50% | 1% |
| Oct 2005 | 12% | 18% | 65% | 5% |
| Sep 2005 | 11% | 35% | 53% | 1% |
| Aug 2005 | 29% | 17% | 53% | 1% |
| July 2005 | 25% | 33% | 41% | 1% |
| Jun 2005 | 22% | 17% | 58% | 3% |
| May 2005 | 19% | 20% | 59% | 2% |
| Apr 2005 | 25% | 21% | 53% | 1% |
| Mar 2005 | 27% | 25% | 46% | 2% |
| Feb 2005 | 30% | 28% | 39% | 3% |
| Jan 2005 | 36% | 25% | 37% | 2% |
Among those saying they approve of the way Bush is handling his
job, 30% say getting better, 56% say staying the same, and 11% say
getting worse. Of those saying they disapprove of the way Bush is
handling his job, 78% say getting worse, 4% say getting better, and
15% say staying the same.
A total of 15% of Americans say they believe the national economy
will be better a year from now, 19% say it will be the same, 62% say
it will be worse, and 4% are undecided.
| National economy a year from now |
|
|
|
|
| Jan 2006 | 15% | 19% | 62% | 4% |
| Dec 2005 | 28% | 31% | 39% | 2% |
| Nov 2005 | 17% | 20% | 61% | 2% |
| Oct 2005 | 29% | 17% | 51% | 3% |
| Sep 2005 | 29% | 14% | 53% | 4% |
| Aug 2005 | 31% | 23% | 44% | 2% |
| July 2005 | 25% | 31% | 42% | 2% |
| Jun 2005 | 26% | 18% | 50% | 6% |
| May 2005 | 21% | 21% | 51% | 7% |
| Apr 2005 | 27% | 25% | 44% | 4% |
| Mar 2005 | 30% | 27% | 38% | 5% |
| Feb 2005 | 38% | 31% | 25% | 6% |
| Jan 2005 | 44% | 26% | 25% | 5% |
Among those saying they approve of the way Bush is handling his
job, 33% say better, 37% say the same as today, and 26% say worse.
Among those saying they disapprove of the way Bush is handling his
job as president, 4% say better, 7% say the same, and 85% say worse.
Overall, 29% of Americans say they believe that the national
economy is in a recession and 57% say they do not believe the
economy is in a recession.
| National economy in a recession | Yes | No | Undecided |
| Jan 2006 | 29% | 57% | 14% |
| Dec 2005 | 28% | 54% | 18% |
| Nov 2005 | 43% | 44% | 13% |
| Oct 2005 | 41% | 44% | 15% |
| Sep 2005 | 45% | 41% | 14% |
| Aug 2005 | 29% | 50% | 21% |
| July 2005 | 28% | 53% | 19% |
| Jun 2005 | 44% | 45% | 11% |
| May 2005 | 35% | 57% | 8% |
| Apr 2005 | 36% | 59% | 5% |
| Mar 2005 | 33% | 63% | 4% |
| Feb 2005 | 28% | 68% | 4% |
| Jan 2005 | 25% | 72% | 3% |
Among those saying they approve of the way Bush is handling his
job, 3% say the national economy is in a recession and 83% say is it
not in a recession. Of those saying they disapprove of the way Bush
is handling his job, 44% say the national economy is in a recession
and 42% say the national economy is not in a recession.
A total of 43% of Americans rate the national economy as
excellent, very good, or good and 55% rate it as bad, very bad, or
terrible.
| National economy |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Jan 2006 | 5% | 9% | 29% | 29% | 9% | 17% | 2% |
| Dec 2005 | 6% | 19% | 22% | 26% | 11% | 14% | 2% |
| Nov 2005 | 6% | 11% | 18% | 31% | 13% | 19% | 2% |
| Oct 2005 | 5% | 12% | 21% | 28% | 11% | 19% | 4% |
| Sep 2005 | 4% | 10% | 29% | 20% | 20% | 13% | 4% |
| Aug 2005 | 2% | 7% | 33% | 29% | 17% | 9% | 3% |
| July 2005 | 1% | 4% | 43% | 37% | 9% | 5% | 1% |
| Jun 2005 | 1% | 5% | 29% | 44% | 6% | 13% | 2% |
| May 2005 | 1% | 2% | 31% | 45% | 6% | 13% | 2% |
| Apr 2005 | 1% | 1% | 35% | 46% | 2% | 14% | 1% |
| Mar 2005 | 1% | 1% | 39% | 42% | 5% | 11% | 1% |
| Feb 2005 | 1% | 2% | 40% | 39% | 2% | 15% | 1% |
| Jan 2005 | 1% | 3% | 44% | 36% | 3% | 12% | 1% |
Among those saying they approve of the way Bush is handling his
job, 81% say excellent, very good, or good and 17% say bad, very
bad, or terrible. Among those saying they disapprove of the way
Bush is handling his job, 78% say bad, very bad, or terrible and 19%
say excellent, very good, or good.
When it comes to rating their household financial situations, 55%
of Americans give an excellent, very good, or good rating and 43%
give a bad, very bad, or terrible rating.
| Household financial situation |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Jan 2006 | 7% | 20% | 28% | 19% | 15% | 9% | 2% |
| Dec 2005 | 8% | 15% | 36% | 21% | 11% | 6% | 3% |
| Nov 2005 | 5% | 16% | 33% | 21% | 16% | 7% | 2% |
| Oct 2005 | 7% | 21% | 32% | 16% | 14% | 7% | 3% |
| Sep 2005 | 4% | 25% | 33% | 17% | 8% | 11% | 2% |
| Aug 2005 | 9% | 12% | 43% | 23% | 5% | 7% | 1% |
| July 2005 | 6% | 15% | 38% | 26% | 4% | 10% | 1% |
| Jun 2005 | 5% | 8% | 33% | 33% | 6% | 13% | 2% |
| May 2005 | 2% | 6% | 36% | 34% | 9% | 11% | 2% |
| Apr 2005 | 4% | 8% | 41% | 27% | 4% | 15% | 1% |
| Mar 2005 | 3% | 11% | 44% | 24% | 3% | 13% | 2% |
| Feb 2005 | 2% | 12% | 47% | 22% | 4% | 10% | 3% |
| Jan 2005 | 4% | 12% | 53% | 20% | 3% | 7% | 1% |
Among those saying they approve of the way Bush is handling his
job, 85% say excellent, very good, or good and 13% say bad, very
bad, or terrible. Among those saying they disapprove of the way Bush
is handling his job, 60% say bad, very bad, or terrible and 38% say
excellent, very good, or good.
A total of 17% of Americans say they think the financial
situations in their households are getting better, 30% say staying
the same, and 51% say getting worse.
| Household financial situation |
|
|
|
|
| Jan 2006 | 17% | 30% | 51% | 2% |
| Dec 2005 | 23% | 45% | 29% | 3% |
| Nov 2005 | 24% | 40% | 33% | 3% |
| Oct 2005 | 15% | 38% | 43% | 4% |
| Sep 2005 | 8% | 62% | 29% | 1% |
| Aug 2005 | 24% | 41% | 33% | 2% |
| July 2005 | 17% | 44% | 35% | 4% |
| Jun 2005 | 17% | 31% | 50% | 2% |
| May 2005 | 9% | 28% | 61% | 2% |
| Apr 2005 | 15% | 32% | 50% | 3% |
| Mar 2005 | 20% | 39% | 39% | 2% |
| Feb 2005 | 18% | 45% | 34% | 3% |
| Jan 2005 | 21% | 49% | 27% | 3% |
Among those saying they approve of the way Bush is handling his
job, 41% say getting better, 36% say staying the same, and 21% say
getting worse. Among those saying they disapprove of the way Bush is
handling his job, 3% say getting better, 25% say staying the same,
70% say getting worse.
Looking to a year from now, 14% of Americans say that they think
their household financial situations will be better than today, 55%
say the same as today, and 29% say worse than today.
| Household financial situation a year from now |
Better than today |
The same as today |
Worse than today |
Undecided |
| Jan 2006 | 14% | 55% | 29% | 2% |
| Dec 2005 | 26% | 45% | 24% | 5% |
| Nov 2005 | 31% | 46% | 20% | 3% |
| Oct 2005 | 17% | 38% | 41% | 4% |
| Sep 2005 | 15% | 50% | 30% | 5% |
| Aug 2005 | 27% | 41% | 27% | 5% |
| July 2005 | 21% | 42% | 30% | 7% |
| Jun 2005 | 17% | 25% | 51% | 7% |
| May 2005 | 23% | 23% | 50% | 4% |
| Apr 2005 | 31% | 28% | 37% | 4% |
| Mar 2005 | 37% | 26% | 32% | 5% |
| Feb 2005 | 40% | 31% | 27% | 2% |
| Jan 2005 | 45% | 29% | 23% | 3% |
About this Survey -
Survey Sponsor: American Research Group, Inc.
The American Research Group has been conducting national surveys of consumers since 1985.
Sample Size: 1,100 completed telephone interviews among a random sample of all adults age 18 and older living in telephone households in the continental United States.
Sample Dates: January 19-22, 2006
Margin of Error: ± 3 percentage points, 95% of the time, on questions where opinion is evenly split.
Question Wording:
How do you rate the condition of the national economy these days - would you say it is excellent, very good, good, bad, very bad, or terrible?
Do you think the national economy is getting better, staying the same, or getting worse?
Would you say that the national economy is in a recession, or not?
A year from now, do you expect the national economy to be better than it is today, the same as it is today, or worse than it is today?
How do you rate the condition of the financial situation in your household - would you say it is excellent, very good, good, bad, very bad, or terrible?
Do you think the financial situation in your household is getting better, staying the same, or getting worse?
A year from now, do you expect the financial situation in your household to be better than it is today, the same as it is today, or worse than it is today?
Do you approve or disapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling his job as president?
Do you approve or disapprove of the way George W. Bush is handling the economy?