Research Indicates Pessimism Remains After Recession, Despite Encouraging Data

According to a new national study performed at Rutgers University, Americans continue to be pessimistic about the state of the economy and its future after the recession.

In fact, that pessimism seems to have increased over the past five years. In 2009, approximately 50 percent of Americans believed that the impact of the recession would be permanent. In this most recent study, that number rose to around 70 percent. Additionally, just one in six Americans believe that the next generation will have more job opportunities than they did, whereas four in 10 held that view just five years ago. Only one in three people believe the economy has improved within the last year.

Finally, there also appears to be pessimism surrounding the state of the federal government. Four in five Americans have either little or no confidence that the federal government will make any sort of progress on the most important problems facing the nation within the next year.

Clearly, the nation appears to be more cynical than it has been in decades in regard to the state of the economy and the federal government. However, there is some reason for positivity, despite these numbers. Within the last few years, there have been sustained levels of job growth, and unemployment rates have shrank significantly since the end of the recession. The most recently published national unemployment numbers at 5.8% seem to indicate that the economy is improving, despite the opinions of the people surveyed in this study.

As the numbers continue to improve, it stands to reason that public opinion will eventually follow.