Share of Americans saying economy is in recovery ticks up to 33 percent in new survey

A third of Americans now believe the economy is in recovery, according to a USA Today poll released Thursday, as President Biden seeks to allay economic fears ahead of the November election.

Just under a quarter, 22 percent, of respondents described the economy as stagnant, an identical proportion calling it in recession, and another 18 percent saying it is in a depression, according to the poll

The 33 percent mark in Thursday’s poll is a 5-point increase from December’s figure, pollsters noted, adding that opinions about the economy have consistently risen since a 9 percent low in July 2022. 

The Biden campaign has argued that the economy is faring much better than many Americans believe, with inflation nearing multi-year lows, unemployment remaining low and the stock market performing well.

"I think public awareness is starting to catch up with the reality that the economy is actually doing really, really well," poll respondent Craig Richey, a composer and university music teacher from Los Angeles, told USA Today.

But the economy is still the most important issue for a plurality of Americans, and former President Trump holds a slight lead over Biden for the November election, according to the poll.

Trump leads Biden, 40 to 38 percent, though a large majority of respondents who prefer third-party candidates, 75 percent, said they could be swayed to one side. In total, a quarter of all respondents said they could change their minds before November, including 14 percent of Biden voters and 15 percent of Trump voters.

Annual inflation sat at 3.2 percent in February, a marginal increase over the month before and still over the Federal Reserve’s 2 percent goal, though significantly less than the peak of 9.1 percent in June 2022.

Poll respondents also responded well to Biden's State of the Union speech last week, with a third of Americans who watched it saying it improved their opinion of the president. About 28 percent said it decreased their opinion. 

About 44 percent of respondents also said they plan to follow Trump’s upcoming New York hush money trial, though just 9 percent of Republicans said a conviction could change their minds, with only 1 percent saying they would vote for Biden.

The poll surveyed 1,000 registered voters over four days last weekend, with a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points.