61% of Americans unhappy with economy: Poll

Hinzugefügt: 2026-05-01

[00:00:01]Thanks for sticking with us on this Thursday morning. A growing majority of Americans say the economy is heading in the wrong direction. Just ahead of our new look at how the economy did in the first quarter of the year. Now, according to the latest data from Reuters and Ipsos, 61% 61% of Americans say the economy is on the wrong track. Let's go to NewsNation national correspondent Alicia Nieves.

[00:00:26]She is on Wall Street this morning.

[00:00:28]Alicia, good morning. So, today's data will move the needle. Will it move the needle at all for Americans who say they are struggling right now? Many Americans who feel that way.

[00:00:38]Hey.

[00:00:39]Yeah, hey Hannah, good morning. You know, today's data is going to give us a snapshot into what Americans have been feeling from January of this year to March of this year, which includes the impact of the conflict and in war with Iran. Um, it's certainly potentially going to be a major market mover for Wall Street. Um, what we're expecting in terms of gross domestic product, which is the big report that's going to drop today and that measures whether the economy is growing or it's shrinking.

[00:01:03]Most economists are expecting we're going to see some growth, but it will be slower growth than we saw this time last year. The number to pay attention to is 1 to 2%. Um, most economists are predicting. There's been quite a bit of a range actually on the estimates for this, but that would be up from Q4's growth. It was pretty dismal, half a percent, especially when you compare it to, you know, just over 6 months ago, the quarter before that, which is 4.4%.

[00:01:27]Stronger than expected growth is going to be a bright spot for Wall Street and maybe even Main Street, showing our economy, even though it feels rough, maybe still resilient. But, if the data shows slower growth or shrinking economy, markets could pull back and that could reflect what a lot of American households are feeling. Got to point out the data follows the big decision yesterday from the Fed, uh, where it decided not to cut interest rates. And even more notably, you heard from Fed Chair Powell saying, um, what the state of the economy is. And he pointed to a lot of uncertainty that Americans are feeling in the economic conditions.

[00:02:03]The economic outlook remains highly uncertain, and the conflict in the Middle East has added to this uncertainty.

[00:02:10]In the near term, higher energy prices will push up overall inflation.

[00:02:15]Beyond that, the scope and duration of potential effects on the economy remain unclear, as does the future course of the conflict itself.

[00:02:25]Yeah, and we'll also get another glimpse at the labor picture with unemployment claims that come out at 8:30 today along with that GDP report. Um, that's something that the average American pays close attention to. We're looking at 215,000 jobs, or excuse me, new unemployment claims. That'll be right in line with what we saw last week, and that's again, anything that deviates from that could move markets, um, you know, to the upside or to the downside, depending on if it's a larger or smaller number, Hannah.

[00:02:51]Yeah, I'm looking at the future.

[00:02:53]Certainly a mixed bag. We'll see what it looks like when the market opens. Alicia Nieves, live on Wall Street. Alicia, thank you. Thank you for watching.

[00:03:00]Subscribe below and download our NewsNation app right now on your phone, and you will get fact-based, unbiased news for all Americans.