This is the worst economic crisis of our lives. But 30% of Americans think the economy is fine

US recession could get worse, experts warn 1:20

New York (CNN Business) -

The pandemic has caused the worst economic crisis in memory.

However, Americans were more pessimistic about the state of the economy during the Great Recession than they are now.

A new study from the Pew Research Center says that 69% of Americans think the current economic situation is bad, while 30% think it is good.

By comparison, only 17% thought the economy was in good shape in 2009, the worst year of the Great Recession.

That's surprising because, by many metrics, the current recession is far worse than the years after the financial crisis - many more jobs have been lost, unemployment is higher, the economy has contracted more dramatically, and the government is spending more. .

There are key differences that may be affecting the way Americans view and feel this recession.

The Great Recession was often referred to as the "men's recession" because many jobs disappeared in male-dominated sectors such as manufacturing and construction.

This time, the job losses have been concentrated in the service sector, especially in the hospitality and travel industries, which employ more women than men.

The pandemic crisis also occurred when things were generally going well, creating a sharp point of comparison.

It came on the heels of the longest economic expansion in US history, with the unemployment rate near a 50-year low in February.

The trend continues in other parts of the world where Pew also conducted surveys.

A median 67% of Europeans think the economy is bad, compared to a median of 32% who think everything is fine.

But as recently as 2013, in the wake of the euro zone sovereign debt crisis, only 15% thought their countries' economies were doing well.

Pew surveyed people in Italy, Spain, France, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark with very mixed results.

In Italy, Spain, France, Great Britain, and Belgium, most people thought the economy was in bad shape.

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And most Americans, Canadians and Germans believe that their countries' economies will improve again next year.

It is the old hope of a V-shaped recovery, defined by a sharp decline and a rapid rebound.

Even when jobs are coming back and manufacturing activity is recovering, it is too early to say whether the recovery will actually be V-shaped.

An important factor affecting economic sentiment is public perception of how the pandemic was handled: those who believe that the response to COVID-19 was poor also believe that their country's economy is bad.

This is especially true in the United States, where 87% of critics of the pandemic response believe the economy is in bad shape.

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