Americans are feeling the inflation pinch so much so that a majority of them already thing the country has entered a recession.
The government has yet to declare that the U.S. economy has veered into a recession. Economists declare a recession “when a nation’s economy experiences negative gross domestic product (GDP), rising levels of unemployment, falling retail sales, and contracting measures of income and manufacturing for an extended period of time,” according to Forbes.
Although inflation hit a 40-year high in May with consumers pay much more for food, gas and rent, experts say the country has yet to see a recession. But tell that to the 53 percent of Americans who say the economy has gone into a recession, according to a new IBD/TIPP Economic Optimism Index published on June 17. Some 25 percent of Americans say they’re unsure if America is in a recession or not. Only 20 percent believe the country is not in a recession.
Black Americans have been hardest hit by inflation, with Black households spending more of their post-tax income on necessities like food and energy than white Americans, according to a new Bank of America report cited by Business Insider.
Just a month ago, in May, less than half of Americans — 48 percent — said the economy was in a recession, compared to 23 percent who said the U.S. was not in a downturn, Newsweek reported.
The uptick in inflation and the Dow Jones Average dropping below 30,000 for the first time in a year and a half on June 16 has stoked recession fears.
Most Americans polled were not optimistic about the future either. In fact, only two in 10 Americans think things are on the way up. This is actually the lowest confidence rating recorded since January 2021, Newsweek reported.
Back in April, 81% of U.S. adults were worried about a recession hitting this year, according to the CNBC + Acorns Invest in You survey conducted by Momentive.
The last recorded recession was in 2020 when the coronavirus pandemic caused extensive business shutdowns and layoffs nationwide, CNBC reported.
