U.S. Economic Confidence Up Modestly: Gallup

(Newsroom America) -- Gallup says its U.S. Economic Confidence Index increased slightly to -19 for the week ending Oct. 7, up from -21 the week prior but little changed from the previous four weeks.

The decline in the unemployment rate reported Friday did not improve economic confidence in Gallup Daily tracking interviewing conducted Friday through Sunday and, at -21, was actually lower than readings earlier in the week.

Gallup said the slight increase in economic confidence last week was the result of a modest improvement in both components of the index: one that assesses current economic conditions and the other that assesses the nation's economic outlook.

Fifteen percent of Americans say the economy is excellent or good, while 41% consider it poor, resulting in a -26 current conditions rating, up slightly from the previous week.

It said the -12 economic outlook rating also reflects a slight increase over the previous week, with 42% of Americans now saying the economy is getting better and 54% saying it is getting worse.

Democrats and Republicans continue to be sharply divided in their perceptions of the economy, although both improved slightly over the previous week, to +25 and -57, respectively. Independents continue to have net negative views of the economy, at -24.

Results are based on telephone interviews conducted as part of Gallup Daily tracking from Oct. 1-7, 2012, with a random sample of 3,325 adults, aged 18 and older, living in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia, selected using random-digit-dial sampling.

The margin of error was ±2 percentage points.