More than three quarters of Americans polled say the United States is in recession and the country was "seriously off on the wrong track", according to a Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll released on Wednesday.
A shopper browses the bread section at a Wal-Mart store in Santa Clarita, California April 1, 2008. Already squeezed by high gasoline prices, slumping home values, a weakening job market and the possibility that the U.S. economy is in a recession, consumers have adopted a no-nonsense approach to shopping, passing over a trip to Target or a local grocery store if they can find lower prices at Wal-Mart. Picture taken April 1, 2008.
For the first time since 1993, the percentage of people who say their finances are very or fairly secure falls below 60 percent --to 57 percent, the poll showed.
Across the country, Americans struggling with higher food and energy costs are more worried about their personal finances than at any time since the early 1990s, said the poll.
Nearly two out of five people say the state of their personal finances is fairly shaky or very shaky, the poll found.
"Anything below 60 percent is sort of like a warning sign of what's coming next," Susan Pinkus, Polling Director of The Los Angeles Times. "It paints the picture of a very grim, weakened economy that is affecting how people are going to spend."
Half of those polled said 2008 would be a below-average year for the stock market and 56 percent of registered voters said the economy should be the top priority for the presidential campaign --a shift from December, when the majority said Iraq should be the candidates' focus.
