It has been nearly a year since the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis announced that the U.S. economy had contracted for two straight quarters, leading some people to mistakenly believe that this two-quarter decline in GDP is the official definition of a recession. Negative beliefs about the economy were common, especially among the political right. However, this raises the question of why, according to research, the public remains so pessimistic about the economy and as negative as it has been in the midst of a deep economic downturn.
There is a significant disconnect between what people are saying about America today, the economy, and what the data says, alongside their own experiences. The Biden recession has been much talked about despite the fact that the actual definition of a recession involves several economic indicators, and aside from these GDP numbers, what’s happening in the economy isn’t far from recession.
Since December 2021, the U.S. economy has added almost 6 million jobs, and the unemployment rate is already falling from 3.9% to 3.4%, the lowest level since the 1960s. Furthermore, according to The Conference Board, which has tracked job satisfaction since 1987, “American workers are happier than ever,” with these jobs being good ones.
One of the benefits of low inflation is that people have one less thing to worry about. Inflation will be the main source of stress in 2022, according to the American Psychiatric Association. However, while inflation is still rising, it has fallen significantly. Petrol prices, which were a big political topic last year, are now more or less normal compared to average incomes.
As a general rule, Americans seem to believe that while they are happy about their personal situation, bad things are happening to others. Supporters of both parties are influenced about how the economy is viewed, but the study found that these changes in reported views have had no effect on actual spending, meaning they reflect “cheering squads” rather than “actual expectations.”
There are good reasons to believe that the media takes such a view. Economic coverage is strongly negatively biased. What’s doing well in America these days is job creation, yet the public consistently reports more negative news about jobs than positive news. Moreover, economists have repeatedly predicted a recession every month over the past year, leading to public pessimism.
However, so far, at least, we have recovered commendably from the COVID-19 crisis. The situation was considered terrible by many Americans in a survey, which shows how people are responding to the survey and where they are receiving their information. The New York Times encourages readers to respond with their thoughts to the article via letters@nytimes.com, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.