Many Americans Not Buying Into the Idea of an Economic Recovery

The "Great Recession", which began in December of 2007, technically came to an end in June of 2009.

As far as recessions go, the "Great Recession" was a long one. The recession during the early 1980s, when the national unemployment rate spiked to 10.8%, ended up lasting 16 months. The "Great Recession" lasted 18 months.

As mentioned, the "Great Recession" technically came to an end in June of 2009. That was nearly 2 years ago.

It may or may not surprise you to learn that the majority (67%) of Americans believe that the country is still in the midst of a recession.

That's right - roughly 3 1/2 years since the start of the "Great Recession", more than 2/3rds of Americans believe that the country is still in the midst of an economic downturn. This is according to the widely followed Rasmussen Reports.

According to Rasmussen Reports, just 18% of Americans believe that the country is currently NOT in a recession.

In April of 2010, the same poll revealed that 70% of Americans believed that the country was still in a recession. In April of 2009, 78% of Americans said they believed that the country was still in a recession.

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It's not hard to see why the majority of Americans still believe that the country is in a recession.

The national unemployment rate is 8.8%. The real estate market is in terrible shape. The country is piling up debt. Many states are being forced to take an axe to their spending and raise taxes in order to balance their budgets.

There is not much to be optimistic about in the country right now, which is why it's no surprise that many Americans are still gloomy.

Source: Rasmussen Consumer Index

Filed under: The Economic Meltdown