New polling released by Michigan State University (MSU) in East Lansing shows that Michiganders continue to feel uneasy about the state of the economy as well as their economic prospects going forward.
According to the survey, nearly 43 percent of respondents said their financial position was worse off than a year ago. In addition, more than 75 percent of respondents believed their economic prospects would worsen or stay the same over the next year.
“Historically, economic polling data reflecting this much general pessimism would be disastrous for the party in power this close to a general election,” says Matt Grossmann, director of the Institute for Public Policy and Social Research at MSU. “However, the same polling also shows strong support for Democratic positions on issues such as reproductive rights, meaning we could be in store for an interesting election night.”
Michiganders are also concerned about the state and future of the economy in their local communities, with 83 percent of respondents expecting that the financial situation in their community would be worse off or the same in the coming year.
Respondents were asked about their expectations for specific economic indicators involving the country as a whole during the next 12 months. The two questions asked were:
- Twelve months from now, do you expect the unemployment situation in this country to be better than, worse than, or about the same as it was in the last 12 months?
- During the next 12 months, do you think the rate of inflation in this country will go up, will go down, or will stay about the same as it was in the past 12 months?
Respondents showed pessimism here, with 82.2 percent believing the unemployment situation will either worsen or stay the same in the next year, leaving 17.8 percent believing it will improve.
The percentage of respondents who believed inflation will get worse decreased from 68.4 percent in a Spring 2022 poll to 60.3 percent today. Some of these people shifted to thinking the inflation situation will improve, moving from 16.6 percent to 18.7 percent in the same time, while those who believe it will remain the same increased from 15 percent to 21 percent.
The research was conducted as a part of the most recent State of the State Survey (SOSS), which has been conducted by the Office for Survey Research and IPPSR since 1994. In addition to the economic data, observations about Michigan’s current political landscape and polling on support for reproductive rights were also released.
The current survey was completed as a YouGov panel survey with data collection from Sept. 2 to Sept. 15, 2022. Invitations were sent to 3,124 adult Michigan residents, and 1,156 interviews were completed.
