Gallup: US Economic Confidence Steady

The ECI averaged minus 11 in October, similar to the minus 11 and minus 10 recorded in August and September, respectively. Americans' confidence in the U.S. economy has been stable for three months since the Democratic National Convention in late July helped boost assessments of the economy. From a long-term perspective, Americans' views of the economy have been relatively stable since August 2015.

The current minus 11 for October is better than the scores for either of the two previous election-year Octobers. But unlike the past two elections, economic confidence has not been trending in a positive or negative direction in the months preceding Election Day, but rather has remained flat.

In October, about as many Americans said the economy is "excellent" or "good" (27 percent) as said the economy is "poor" (29 percent), resulting in a current conditions score of minus 2. Americans' assessments of the current state of the economy are about as positive as they have been in the past eight years. Americans remain much more negative about the direction the economy is headed. Thirty-eight percent believe the economy is "getting better" and 58 percent say it is "getting worse," resulting in an economic outlook score of minus 20.