Economics

Meh Economy? Americans Aren’t Sure What to Make of the Recovery

  • Rebound in output, jobs hasn’t dispelled all the Covid gloom
  • Inflation eats into wage gains -- but U.S. still leads peers
U.S. Retail Sales Decline by More Than Expected 1.1%
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If there’s a single word that captures how Americans feel about their economy as the second pandemic summer draws to a close, it could conceivably be: “meh.”

In the two years before Covid-19 struck, U.S. consumers reckoned they had things pretty good. For about a year starting from March 2020, they knew a bad economy when they saw one.

But for several months now, polling data suggest the public isn’t quite sure what to make of the recovery -– with a roughly even split between positive and negative views.