U.S. economic confidence highest in months

Thanks in part to a positive jobs report, Americans are the most confident they've been in months about the U.S. economy.

It hasn't been since May that economic confidence levels were this high, according to Gallup's latest Economic Confidence Index, the organization's weekly poll of Americans' current outlook on the economy. The poll asks respondents to rate economic conditions in the U.S. today. A second question asks if economic conditions in the U.S. as a whole are getting better or worse. The poll interviews approximately 3,500 adults in the U.S. and has a margin of error at +/- 2.

But even as economic confidence rises, there is a clear link between economic confidence and politics. While Democrats and Independence were more confident in the current economic state, Republican were less confident. And using this polling measure, both sides can take something away from this report to bolster their case as the election nears.

[T]he measurable improvement in economic confidence in the final weeks leading up to the election -- combined with higher satisfaction with the way things are going in the country -- is good news for those making the case that the economy is improving and that the nation is on the right track. On the flip side, views remain more negative than positive in an absolute sense, bolstering the case of those arguing for a change in leadership.

Still, September and October have seen some of the highest economic confidence ratings recorded in the post-economic-collapse era.

[Via Gallup]

This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com