Poll: Americans predict long economic recovery

01.22.09
By Sarah Beldo

For most Americans, it has already become clear that this recession is more serious than other economic downturns of the recent past.

This acceptance of prolonged financial uncertainty is borne out by the findings of a new CNN/Opinion Research poll, which found that only 13 percent of respondents think economic recovery will arrive within the next year.

As for the others, slightly more than one-quarter predict a turnaround in two years, while 59 percent are not betting on a recovery for at least a couple of years.

No one could accuse the respondents of blind optimism. However, there was a minor shift noted amid the gloom, with the number of people describing the economy as "very poor" falling by 16 points.

However, CNN polling director said the trend probably means "most of those people have just moved from the 'very poor' category to the 'somewhat poor' category."

Perhaps unsurprisingly, unemployment has been dubbed the topic that elicits the most concern to survey respondents.

December's unemployment rate stood at 7.2 percent and many experts believe this proportion is set to rise further in 2009.

Although President Obama has outlined a stimulus package that includes plans aimed at creating millions of jobs, the details have not yet been announced.

After employment, Americans ranked dealing with the federal budget deficit as the second-most-important issue, followed by tackling problems related to home loans.

As we head further into 2009, one thing is clear: money is on people's minds. Not only do Americans think the government should prioritize fixing the economy, but many individuals have already begun adjusting their personal finance habits to avoid accumulating additional credit card debt and save more for the future.

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Most people think economic recovery could take two years or more