Economic anxiety is on the uptick, our new poll says
Economic anxiety is on the uptick, our new poll says
Economic anxiety is on the rise in America.
Results are out from the latest Marketplace-Edison Research Poll, and they reveal a growing sense of financial insecurity among our poll respondents.
More Americans are increasingly worried about saving for retirement and the ability to pay their mortgage or rent. Thirty percent of Americans are very fearful they will lose their job in the next six months, up from 10 percent a year ago. And 39 percent of Americans say their personal financial situation actually causes them to lose sleep.
A majority of Americans — 62 percent — think the economy is rigged for certain groups. And a majority of respondents who think the economy is rigged agree that it’s rigged for the rich, politicians, banks and bank executives, and corporations.
However, supporters of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump differ dramatically on how the rigged economic system is benefiting other subgroups. Sixty-six percent of Trump supporters say the economy is rigged for people who receive government assistance, compared to 32 percent of Clinton supporters. Sixty-two percent of Clinton supporters say the economy is rigged for whites, while 21 percent of Trump supporters say so.
Using responses to the Marketplace-Edison Research Poll, Marketplace and Edison Research created the Economic Anxiety Index ®, a number on a scale from 0-100 that is calculated from answers to a battery of questions. The Economic Anxiety Index ®, created using responses to our poll, describes just how stressed out people feel about their personal financial situation.
After this latest round of polling, The Economic Anxiety Index® is 36, up 20 percent from a year ago.
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