- Gallup poll finds only 24% now name the economy the top problem, down 19 points since October 2024.
- Concern over government/poor leadership surged to 28%, overtaking the economy amid a prolonged shutdown and low approval ratings.
WASHINGTON—Just a year after inflation and job worries dominated American minds during the presidential race, something strange is happening with how people view the economy.
It’s not that the pain has vanished—grocery bills are still biting, and inflation ticked up to 3% last month, the highest since early this year.
But in a fresh Gallup poll, only 24% of Americans now call the economy the nation’s top problem, down a whopping 19 points from 43% in October 2024.
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That’s left even seasoned pollsters scratching their heads, especially as President Donald Trump’s approval ratings on economic handling hover in the red.
CNN’s chief data analyst Harry Enten couldn’t hide his surprise when he broke down the numbers on air last week, stating, “It kind of pops off the screen.”
“We’re talking about 24 percent, we’re talking about a drop of near 20 points.
And more than that, we’re talking about across all of the different political groups, right? Democrats, independents, Republicans, we see that the percentage who say the top problem is economic has been falling through the floor… Which is, I think, very much surprising given all the news that we are hearing about the economy.”
Worry on Government Leadership Grows
The timing couldn’t be worse—or better, depending on your perspective—for Trump.
The poll landed smack in the middle of a government shutdown that’s dragged on for weeks, freezing federal data releases and putting hundreds of thousands of workers on unpaid leave.
Congress’s approval sits at a dismal 15%, and Trump’s overall rating is underwater at 41%.
Yet amid the chaos, “government/poor leadership” has surged to 28% as the biggest worry, edging out the economy for the top spot.
Immigration clocked in at 16%, up from 14% last year, while healthcare doubled to 6%.
This isn’t some isolated blip. Broader surveys paint a picture of Americans hunkering down, their economic optimism eroded by persistent high prices and a job market that’s cooled off faster than expected.
The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index, a bellwether for how folks feel about their wallets, slipped to 53.6 in October—a 1.5% drop from September and the lowest in five months.
That’s still above the three-year low hit back in April, but it’s a far cry from the sunnier vibes of late 2024.
Inflation expectations are creeping higher too, signaling that everyday costs—from gas to rent—are still front and center.
“Inflation and high prices remain at the forefront of consumers’ minds,” said Joanne Hsu, director of consumer surveys at the University of Michigan, in a statement accompanying the data.
Lower- and middle-income households are feeling it hardest, with growing fears about job security and stagnant wages amid rising bills.
Greg Daco, chief economist at EY-Parthenon, put it bluntly: “The lower to median end of the income spectrum are increasingly concerned about job prospects and income prospects, and that is weighing on their morale at a time where prices are rising. So it’s really an affordability issue.”
The Conference Board’s consumer confidence gauge echoed the gloom, with its Present Situation Index tumbling 7 points to 125.4 in September—the biggest drop in a year.
Stephanie Guichard, senior economist at the Conference Board, noted that the index has been sliding since February, dipping below recession-warning levels.
“Consumer confidence weakened in September, declining to the lowest level since April 2025,” she said.
Are The Policies What Americans Expected?
Part of this malaise traces back to Trump’s aggressive tariff rollout, which kicked off early in his second term and has jacked up import costs, hitting everything from electronics to produce.
A U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report last week confirmed inflation’s uptick to 3%, directly contradicting Trump’s recent boast that he’d “defeated inflation.”
Polls show his economic handling at a net -19, the worst for any president since tracking started in 1977—even Fox News surveys find most Americans think things have worsened under him.
But here’s the twist: Despite the dour vibes, spending hasn’t cratered. Retail sales rose 0.6% in August, the third straight monthly gain, buoyed by a labor market that’s slowing but not collapsing—unemployment hovers low, even if hiring has sputtered.
Economists like those at CNN point out that sentiment hasn’t reliably predicted behavior since the pandemic; back in 2022, when inflation peaked at four-decade highs, people kept opening their checkbooks anyway.
The shutdown seems to be amplifying the shift away from pure economic angst.
Early October data from Reuters showed sentiment holding steady despite the funding lapse, with households brushing off immediate impacts but stewing over longer-term job worries.
“U.S. consumer sentiment was steady in October, with households appearing to shrug off a partial shutdown of the government, though worries about the labor market and inflation lingered,” reported Lucia Mutikani of Reuters.
What’s Next for Americans?
Looking ahead, forecasts aren’t rosy. Deloitte’s Q3 outlook pegs consumer spending as resilient through year’s end but poised to slow sharply in 2026, with the University of Michigan index already down to 55.4 in September from 74 in December 2024.
Year-ahead inflation expectations sit at 4.8%, more than double the Fed’s target.
And as midterm elections loom, this reordering of priorities could hand Republicans breathing room.
Enten noted in a recent segment that fewer Americans now see the shutdown hurting the economy much—only 48% say it’s causing “great deal” or “quite a bit” of harm, per CNBC/NBC News.
Gallup’s broader economic confidence index ticked down to -19 in January, with just 34% saying conditions are improving versus 57% who see them worsening.
Partisan lines are blurring too: Democrats’ positive views of the economy have slipped from 51% in October to 45% now, while Republicans have inched up slightly.
For everyday Americans, it’s less about polls and more about the grind. As one Michigan survey respondent put it in interviews, the economy feels “like quicksand—sinking slow but steady.”
With tariffs in court, a shutdown unresolved, and holiday shopping on the horizon, that slow sink could accelerate. Or, just maybe, the nation’s gaze will swing back to the wallet when the dust settles.
Either way, Enten’s stunned reaction captures the moment: In a year of economic headwinds, the biggest surprise might be how little we’re talking about them.
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