Economic Optimism Gains, But Current Ratings, Not So

April 14, 2009 — -- Easing pessimism about the economy's direction hasn't done a thing for ratings of current conditions: They're their lowest in two months and very close to their record low in 23 years of weekly polling.

The ABC News Consumer Comfort Index, based on ratings of current conditions, stands at -51 on its scale of +100 to -100, just 3 points from its all-time low of -54 in late January. The index is down 4 points from its 2009 high four weeks ago.

Click here for a PDF with charts and data table.

Expectations about the economy – measured separately – have been moving in another direction. Twenty-four percent say the economy's getting better, 10 points higher than last month and 5 points higher than the 28-year average. Still, nearly twice as many are pessimistic – and pessimism in this poll is a bit higher than in an ABC News/Washington Post poll two weeks ago.

There's a political component to both measures. Ratings of the current economy have sagged among Republicans, while improving among Democrats to their best since July. (However, they remain better among Republicans, who tend to be better-off financially.) There's more partisanship in expectations; 60 percent of Republicans say the economy's getting worse, compared with 32 percent of Democrats and independents alike.

In speeches today Barack Obama and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke both noted some gains but also stressed the difficulties ahead. Those were reinforced by a Commerce Department report showing unexpectedly weak retail sales in March, with their biggest decline in three months.

INDEX – The CCI is based on Americans' ratings of the national economy, their personal finances and the buying climate. Only 5 percent rate the economy positively, in single digits for a record 23 weeks and 34 points below their long-term average.

Twenty-two percent say it's a good time to buy things, matching the low for the year and just 4 points from the all-time low in October and August. A quarter or fewer have rated the buying climate positively for 13 weeks straight.