Fresh survey results from the August Freedom Economy Index could spell trouble for the incumbent political party this November as 7 in 10 Americans say their financial situation is “worse off” or “much worse off” than a year ago. Moreover, respondents in purple “swing” states report they are “much worse off” by 7 points higher than those in red states.
“It was Bill Clinton who coined the phrase, ‘it’s the economy, stupid,’” said RedBalloon CEO Andrew Crapuchettes. “The latest Freedom Economy survey numbers look like most Americans have been in a personal recession for the past year.”
Americans Are Struggling
1. 70.5% of respondents say their personal financial situation is either “worse” or “much worse,” than a year ago.
2. 44% of all respondents aren’t making enough income to cover their daily expenses. This number is 6 points worse in blue states than red states, and it climbs higher for Baby Boomers, who are losing financial ground the quickest.
3. 93% of respondents say that food prices increased in the last 30 days; 74% also reported higher gas prices and 69% higher utility rates.
4. 63% say it's now much harder to get a job than it was 6 months ago. And, 4 in 10 job seekers have been unemployed for over a year.
5. Less than half of employees with a college degree are working in the same field or industry where their degree is based.
6. A large majority of job seekers shy away from open jobs at companies that emphasize DEI policies, and 74.7% of employees say that DEI has caused division and contention in the workplace.
Key Charts
Expert Analysis
Now in its 2nd year, the Freedom Economy Index survey is a joint project of PublicSquare and RedBalloon. This month’s survey focused on a universe of over 100,000 active employees and jobseekers from RedBalloon’s national job seeker database.
“Elections are won or lost on the economy,” said PublicSquare CEO Michael Seifert. “Asking the question ‘are you better off than 4 years ago’ is pretty standard in American politics. Based on our results, this doesn’t bode well for the incumbent party.”
“Perhaps we are in a different kind of recession,” added Andrew Crapuchettes. “The overall slowdown in population growth has created a people shortage, so in an economic slowdown, most keep their jobs, but the economic pain is real. That’s what we’re seeing in this survey.”
What American Jobseekers Are Saying
Jobs are posted, I apply, jobs never call. And I keep seeing the same jobs posted. So, either the jobs don’t exist, or the company just wants people to believe the jobs exist.
I'm applying every day for jobs but can't find one.
It's been 1.5 years since I've had a job, and I've looked and applied, but no one is hiring me.
I was laid off in Dec 2023 and never had it this been this difficult finding a decent job!
I was part of a 20% companywide layoff and still not working, it has been 6 months, and I am very worried.
Hugely difficult, been looking for 1 year.
Companies do not want to hire you unless you check a diversity box.
It is very hard. I work with job seekers, and it is the worst I have seen in 40+ years
In tech, it’s almost impossible.
Companies don’t respond.
The job market is terrible. I know of people facing foreclosure because they can't find work and a year ago, were making nearly 6 figures.
Both my wife and I applied for hundreds of jobs, got only a few interviews and it took 8 months to find jobs.
I've been applying for jobs for one year and two months and nobody will hire me.
It's been awful. I've sent 125 applications in a year and have gotten a few freelance gigs, but not a full-time job to live comfortably (and we are not flashy people).
The past 6 months have been very tough for job applicants.