Wilted Green Shoots
From January through May, a growing proportion of Americans said they were hearing a mix of good and bad news about the economy. More recently, however, there has been a steady increase in the share saying that the economic news is mostly bad.
Currently, 41% say they are hearing mostly bad news about the economy, edging up from 37% in June but 10 points higher than in May (31%). Over the past two months, the proportion reporting they are hearing a mix of good and bad news has fallen from 64% to 56%. Very few Americans (3% currently) continue to say they are hearing mostly good news about the economy.
As noted in the weekly News Interest Index report, while many Americans refocused their primary attention on the aftermath of pop star Michael Jackson's death, the public continued to keep a watch on economic developments last week. About four-in-ten (38%) say they followed reports about the condition of the U.S. economy very closely, similar to the 42% that said the same the week before. Nearly one-in-five (19%) say this was story they followed most closely last week.
Since May, more Americans see news about the economy as mostly bad, but the shift has been particularly notable among political independents.
Read the full report Wilted Green Shoots on the Pew Research Center's Web site.
