Americans increasingly feel the economy is on the wrong track
Washington, D.C., April 28, 2026 – A new Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted April 24-27 finds that a rising share of Americans say the national economy is off on the wrong track, as a majority describe the U.S. economy as weak.
As the conflict in Iran continues to disrupt global trade and oil prices, 69% of Americans say the national economy is off on the wrong track, up from 60% in March 2026 and from 43% in January 2025.
In addition, a rising share of Americans (20%) say that economic concerns are the most important problem facing the country, up slightly from March (16%). The share selecting war and foreign conflicts as their top concern is down from 14% in March to 8% in April.
Just 27% approve of how President Donald Trump is handling the U.S. economy and only 21% approve of how he is handling inflation and rising prices. Both ratings represent low points in Reuters/Ipsos polling conducted during Trump’s second term.
President Trump’s overall approval rating stands at 34% among all respondents and 37% among registered voters, both second-term lows for the president. Of note, the vast majority of respondents completed the survey before the shooting Saturday night at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, attended by President Trump.
The poll also explores attitudes toward the war in Iran, the popularity of major political figures, and views towards the impact of Artificial Intelligence.
About the Study
This Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted April 24-27, 2026, by Ipsos using the probability-based KnowledgePanel®. This poll is based on a nationally representative probability sample of 1,269 general population adults aged 18 or older.
The study was conducted in English. The data were weighted to adjust for gender by age, race and ethnicity, census region, metropolitan status, education, household income, 2024 vote choice and political party identification. Political party identification benchmarks are from the 2025 NPORS annual survey, with a midyear adjustment estimated across aggregated KnowledgePanel surveys accounting for changes in panelists’ party identification over time. The demographic benchmarks came from the 2025 March supplement of the U.S. Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey (CPS).
- Gender (Male, Female) by Age (18–29, 30–44, 45-59 and 60+)
- Race/Hispanic Ethnicity (White Non-Hispanic, Black Non-Hispanic, Other, Non-Hispanic, Hispanic, 2+ Races, Non-Hispanic)
- Education (Less than High School, High School, Some College, Bachelor’s degree, Master’s degree or higher)
- Census Region (Northeast, Midwest, South, West)
- Metropolitan status (Metro, non-Metro)
- Household Income (Under $25,000, $25,000-$49,999, $50,000-$74,999, $75,000-$99,999, $100,000-$149,999, $150,000+)
- 2024 Vote Choice (Trump, Harris, Another candidate, Did not vote)
- Political Party ID (Democrat, Lean Democrat, Republican, Lean Republican, Independent/Something else)
The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 2.9 percentage points at the 95% confidence level, for results based on the entire sample of adults. The margin of sampling error takes into account the design effect, which was 1.07. The margin of sampling error is higher and varies for results based on sub-samples. In our reporting of the findings, percentage points are rounded off to the nearest whole number. As a result, percentages in a given table column may total slightly higher or lower than 100%. In questions that permit multiple responses, columns may total substantially more than 100%, depending on the number of different responses offered by each respondent.
For more information on this news release, please contact:
Alec Tyson
Senior Vice President, US
Public Affairs
[email protected]
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