Americans' economic confidence at its lowest point since 2009

Americans' economic confidence is at its lowest point since 2009, when the Great Recession was just coming to an end, according to Gallup's Economic Confidence Index.

According to Gallup, the "Economic Confidence Index is a summary measure of Americans' perceptions of current economic conditions and their outlook for the economy." Possible scores range from "+100 (if all respondents say the economy is excellent or good and that it is getting better) to -100 (if all say it is poor and getting worse)."

The ECI hit -45 in May, down from -39 in March and April, The Hill reports. In Feb. 2020, before the COVID-19 lockdowns began, the ECI stood at +41. The lowest score on record is -72 in 2008.

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In May, only 14 percent of Americans rated the economy as either "excellent" or "good," while 85 percent said current economic conditions were "poor" or "only fair." When asked about the future of the U.S. economy, 20 percent of Americans said it was getting better, while 77 percent said it was getting worse.