Americans say economy is poor, yet retail sales on the rise

09.16.09
By Lewis Green

Although many Americans are facing credit card debt and mortgage loans they struggle to pay each month, some economic indicators show that the recession may be coming to an end. Yet a new poll released this week shows that most Americans still view the state of the economy as poor.

A new Associated Press-GfK poll finds that there is little faith in the government to come up with a solution to the economic problem as 70 percent of those polled are not confident that the federal government has taken the necessary steps to keep an economic meltdown from occurring again.

The poll, which took place during the week ending September 8, found that 80 percent of Americans would label the economy as "poor" - up slightly from the 79 percent who said the same the week prior. Only 5 percent labeled the economy "somewhat good" while 1 percent called it "very good."

Yet on a personal level there seems to be some disconnect with Americans as 58 percent say their household's financial situation is "good." This is up from 56 percent the previous week.

Still, almost half of Americans (46 percent) say they are worried about paying down their credit card debt or making mortgage payments each month, with about one-quarter (24 percent) saying they "worry a lot" about these bills.

But new figures show that Americans are still spending.

Figures released this week from the Commerce Department show that retail sales increased by 2.7 percent in August. Although much of the increase is on the back of the Cash for Clunkers program, the Department of Commerce said retail sales, excluding auto sales, rose 1.1 percent for the month. Both of these numbers were above the expectations of analysts.

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Many Americans are still stressed about paying bills