"Rarely has Gallup found such a dramatic shift in Americans' economic confidence over the past nine years as it has in the past month..." is how Gallup summarizes the post-election spike in optimism among Americans in their economic outlook survey.
While current conditions dipped modestly, the number of Americans who said they believe economic conditions are 'getting better' soared post-election...
Donald Trump's election last month spurred significant improvements in Republicans' economic confidence, which pushed the index into positive territory. Now, both Democrats and Republicans have positive overall views of the U.S. economy, resulting in the record high for the index.
The index's positive scores in recent weeks represent a reversal from the negative scores recorded in most weeks over the past nine years, except for a brief string of positive scores recorded in late 2014 and early 2015.
But the positive shift in economic confidence is largely the result of Republicans' optimism after last month's presidential election. Until the president-elect takes office next month, it's a bit early to tell if the boost in confidence has lasting potential. Republicans could be experiencing a temporary high from Trump's victory. But on the other hand, their views of the economy could continue to improve once Trump settles into the White House, while Democrats' confidence could dwindle. Of course, much will depend on the actual course of the stock market, jobs reports and other economic indicators once Trump takes office.