State residents have a gloomy view of the national picture — including the economy — according to the most recent MetroNews West Virginia Poll.
The poll asked participants for their view of the most important problem facing the United States today.
Most, 30%, said the economy, employment and jobs.
That compared to 15% who said immigration and security on U.S. borders, 11% who said political extremism and threats to democracy and 6% who said crime and corruption with a range of additional issues coming in at lower percentages.
In national political races, “you hear a lot of discussion on the Republican side on the border, and on the Democratic side you hear a lot about extremism and threats to democracy,” said Rex Repass, president of Research America and author of the West Virginia Poll.
“But the most important threat, according to poll respondents, is the economy and jobs. No question, the most important issue for West Virginians, when they think about national issues, it’s jobs and the economy.”
The MetroNews West Virginia Poll included 400 completed interviews among registered voters likely to vote in the coming general election. The polling took place Aug. 21-27. All 55 counties are included in the sample. The confidence level is +/- 4.9 percentage points. The West Virginia Poll is presented by The Health Plan.
In the latest series of questions, 70% of respondents said the country is going in the wrong direction while 30% said the country is headed in the right direction.
“That’s more negative than how West Virginia voters perceive the state of affairs in their home state,” Repass said.
On the same question about West Virginia, 56% said the state is going the wrong way and 44% said the state is going in the right direction.
The belief that the country is going in the wrong direction, though, is also tied to a West Virginia perspective on the national political scene. A release of poll numbers from a few days ago showed that 64% view President Joe Biden, unfavorably and 61% view Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, unfavorably.
“The economy and the direction of the country are viewed negatively by people who have a negative impression of the president and vice president,” Repass said.
On a question about what direction the U.S. economy will go in next year, respondents were split about evenly three ways: Most, 36%, predicted the economy will get worse; 34% said it will stay the same and 31% predicted it will improve.
The national picture is experiencing stable economic indicators — or even mild improvement.
The U.S. inflation rate, which is much discussed, was most recently at 2.89% compared to the prior 12 months. That was a little lower than the 3% increase in the consumer price index from the prior month and 3.18% last year.
The national unemployment rate — the percentage of people without jobs who are looking for work — rose to 4.3% in July. The number of unemployed people increased by 352,000 to 7.2 million. Those numbers are higher than a year earlier when the jobless rate was 3.5% and the number of unemployed people was 5.9 million.
The U.S. gross domestic product rose at an annual rate of 3% in the second quarter of 2024, compared to a 1.4% GDP increase in the first quarter. That reflected increases in consumer spending, private inventory investment and business investment.
Personal income increased $75.1 billion (+0.3% at a monthly rate) in July. Disposable personal income, which is personal income minus personal current taxes, increased $54.8 billion (+0.3 percent).
Projections by the Congressional Budget Office suggest economic growth will remain steady at 2% in 2025 before settling at roughly 1.8% in 2026 and later years. That outlook also foresees inflation falling in line with the Federal Reserve’s long-run goal of 2% by 2026 and stabilizing after that.
