Boom2Bust.com

Two-Thirds Of Americans See 2008 Recession

According to a Bloomberg/Los Angeles Times survey taken of 1,209 adults between October 19-22, 65% of those polled say they expect an economic recession in 2008. 51% of respondents said the economy is doing poorly at the present time, as opposed to 46% who are more upbeat about our economic health.

The present outlook is the gloomiest since February 2003, according to Bloomberg. As recent as June did 57% of survey respondents think the U.S. economy was doing well. Poll respondent Roger Sharp, a 63-year-old retired procurement analyst from Milwaukie, Oregon, said, “I’m starting to think there’s a good possibility of recession. The housing industry is driving the economy down and people are starting to get laid off from jobs that have been around for a long time.”

Such negativity was reflected in today’s release of the Reuters/University of Michigan consumer index, which indicated consumer sentiment fell in October from the prior month, reaching its lowest level since May 2006. Richard Curtin, director of the Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers, told MarketWatch today, “Each downward step in confidence increases the probability of recession, which is still below 50%, but not comfortably so.” Falling home values, higher food prices, and higher fuel prices are expected to make consumers “much more cautious spenders,” according to the survey.