Inflation Worries Surge; Most Voters Rate Biden ‘Poor’ on Economy

A majority of voters now rate President Joe Biden’s handling of the economy as poor, amid rising concerns about inflation.

A new national telephone and online survey by Rasmussen Reports and The National Pulse finds that just 34% of Likely U.S. Voters rate Biden’s handling of economic issues excellent or good, while 51% now give the president a poor rating on the economy. That’s a significant decline since July, when 42% of voters rated Biden good or excellent on economic issues and 43% gave him a poor rating. (To see survey question wording, click here.)

Eighty-three percent (83%) of voters now say they are concerned about inflation, including 57% who are Very Concerned, while just 14% are not concerned about inflation. Inflation worries have risen since May, when 76% of voters were concerned, including 45% who were Very Concerned.

While a majority (62%) of Democrats still rate Biden excellent or good on his handling of economic issues, that view is shared by only 16% of Republicans and 20% of voters not affiliated with either major party. Biden’s positive rating on the economy has dropped 17 points with unaffiliated voters since July. Seventy-eight percent (78%) of Republicans and 60% of unaffiliated voters now give Biden a poor rating on the economy, as do 21% of Democrats.

(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it’s in the news, it’s in our polls). Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook.

The survey of 1,000 U.S. Likely Voters was conducted on October 13-14, 2021 by Rasmussen Reports and The National Pulse. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

Inflation worries are shared by an overwhelming majority of voters across party lines, with 90% of Republicans, 77% of Democrats and 86% of unaffiliated voters at least Somewhat Concerned about inflation.

Fifty-five percent (55%) of Black voters rate Biden either excellent or good on his handling of economic issues, but just 31% of whites and other minorities share that view.

Black voters (44%) are less likely than whites (60%) or other minorities (59%) to be Very Concerned about inflation.

Voters earning $100,000 a year or more have a more favorable view of Biden’s handling of economic issues than do voters earning less. Similarly, those with graduate degrees have a higher opinion of Biden on the economy than do those with less education.

Voters under 40 are significantly less likely than their elders to be Very Concerned about inflation.

Government employees are much more likely than private sector workers to have a favorable view of Biden’s handling of the economy. Retirees are most likely to be Very Concerned about inflation.

Among voters who say they are Very Concerned about inflation, 76% give Biden a poor rating for his handling of the economy.

Problems affecting the U.S. supply chain have a majority of Americans concerned, as they are already noticing shortages in stores, and they expect the federal government to take action to solve the crisis.

More than two-thirds of voters are against plans in Congress to give the Internal Revenue Service access to data on all bank transactions over $600, and most believe Democrats are lying when they say they’ll only raise taxes on the rich.

Additional information from this survey and a full demographic breakdown are available to Platinum Members only.

Please sign up for the Rasmussen Reports daily e-mail update (it’s free) or follow us on Facebook. Let us keep you up to date with the latest public opinion news.