Americans Are Still Optimistic About Jobs, Economic Opportunity
With unemployment at record lows, Americans remain highly confident about the job market, and most still think just about anyone can get ahead in today's world.
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Most Recent Releases
November 8, 2018
October 30, 2018
Americans Concerned U.S. Economy Headed For Another Recession
Despite a rocky week on Wall Street, Americans remain more optimistic than they’ve been in past years about the direction of the stock market, but a majority are concerned that the U.S. economy is headed for another recession.
October 23, 2018
Few Consider Themselves Wealthy, Even Among Highest Earners
Republican and Democratic candidates alike are making their last-minute attempts at earning the middle class vote. But while Americans may not agree what income qualifies as middle class, most are pretty sure they fall into that category. Even among the country’s highest earners, only one-in-five consider themselves wealthy.
October 22, 2018
Nearly Half View The Federal Reserve Favorably
President Trump called the Federal Reserve his “biggest threat” in a recent interview, claiming that the central bank is raising interest rates too fast. But it appears Americans have warmed up to the Fed these days.
October 19, 2018
Americans Favor Amazon But Fear for Local Businesses
Americans like Amazon but worry that the online mega-market will continue to put more traditional retail outlets like Sears out of business.
October 12, 2018
Consumer Spending Update Consumer Confidence Marches Upward
With the release of last week’s jobs report reflecting a near 50-year low for unemployment, consumer confidence has started to rise once again.
October 10, 2018
Following Record Jobs Report, Fewer Than Ever Know Someone Unemployed
The latest jobs report released Friday shows unemployment at a 49-year low, and fewer Americans than ever now know someone out of work.
October 8, 2018
Men, Women Disagree on Gov. Mandate to Seat Women on Boards of Directors
California now requires all publicly traded companies in the state to have at least one woman on their board of directors by the end of 2019. While men and women don’t see eye-to-eye on whether they’d want a law like this in their state, they do agree that the decision shouldn’t be up to the government.
September 7, 2018
Consumer Spending Update: Consumer Confidence Levels Off - At Record Levels
Consumer confidence appears to have plateaued, but it remains at record highs.
August 23, 2018
Do Americans Like The Idea of Raising Minimum Wage?
Earlier this week, North Carolina became one of at least four states to raise the hourly minimum wage of state workers to $15.
August 10, 2018
Consumer Spending Update: Americans Open Their Wallets Wider
As economic confidence stays perched among the highest levels in four years of surveying, consumers are ready to open their wallets again, just in time for the back-to-school shopping season.
August 3, 2018
Americans Agree ‘Made in America’ Is More Than A Slogan
President Trump visited Granite City, Illinois, last week to address the success of a recently reopened steel mill there, saying, "Made in America. It's not just a slogan but a way of life.” Most Americans agree with the president and say buying American-made is important to them.
July 26, 2018
Americans Like the Idea of a 4-Day Work Week
Companies in several countries around the world have experimented with changing employees’ work schedules from five eight-hour days to four 10-hour shifts with the goal of increasing employee productivity and morale. Americans are receptive to the idea and see the potential for improved productivity in the workplace.
July 16, 2018
Most Americans Concerned About U.S.-China Trade War
The United States is setting the stage for a trade war with China over the Trump administration’s increased tariffs on hundreds of billions of dollars’ worth of Chinese imports, something nearly two-thirds of Americans are concerned about.
July 13, 2018
Is AI the Future for American Jobs?
Americans are leery that most human jobs will be replaced by artificial intelligence in the future.
July 6, 2018
Consumer Spending Update: Economic Confidence Still Among Record Highs
Spending may have grounded for summer, but sentiments on the economy are still flying high.
June 21, 2018
Can Robots Replace Workers? Americans Think It's Likely
A report released in November found that as many as 800 million workers worldwide could be replaced by robots by 2030. That’s not shocking to most Americans, but they also don’t believe they are easily replaceable.
June 15, 2018
Consumer Spending Update: Confidence in the Economy Remains High
Despite reports that inflation is at a six-year high, Americans remain upbeat about the economy.
June 6, 2018
Americans Say Government Workers Have It Made
Despite President Trump’s recent executive orders making it easier to effectively discipline and fire bad federal employees, most Americans still think a government job is the gig to have.
June 1, 2018
Most Say It's Too Hard to Fire Government Workers
President Trump last week signed a series of executive orders that, among other things, makes it easier to fire unionized federal workers. That's something most Americans agree is too difficult to do.
