Two-third's of Americans remain dissatisfied with the country's direction, though a growing number has expressed satisfaction with how things are going, according to a new poll.
Gallup saw a second monthly increase as 32% of U.S. citizens said they were satisfied with the country’s direction. That was up from 27% in February.
In January, Americans' satisfaction with the state of affairs had reached its lowest point in nearly a decade at 11%.
As for the economy, 23% of Americans said it was "excellent" or "good," and 31% said it was "poor." The remainder said the economy was "fair."
Little more than a third (36%) of the country approves of the job Congress is doing. That total was similar to February, which marked the legislative body's highest approval rating in nearly 12 years.
The poll, conducted March 1-15, found 67% of Americans remained dissatisfied with the country's direction.
Democrats’ responses less than two months after President Joe Biden took office played a significant role in the improvements among data points.
March's level of overall satisfaction with the country's direction was the highest since May 2020, which was followed by months consumed by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the presidential election.
Satisfaction among Republicans has decreased significantly since Biden took office. Only 7% percent of GOP members said they were satisfied.
That was much lower that the percentage of Democrats (52%) and independents (30%) who said they were satisfied.
The Gallup poll found that increased satisfaction with the country’s direction could be tied to more confidence in the U.S. economy.
Gallup's Economic Confidence Index still measured overall confidence in negative territory, at minus-7. However, that was an improvement from February, which followed a dip in confidence at the end of 2020 and beginning of 2021.
The index was at minus-33 last April, at the beginning of the pandemic. Current assessments remain far below pre-pandemic estimates.
Gallup asks respondents to rate the country’s economic conditions as excellent, good, fair, or poor. It also asks if the economy is getting better or worse.
The Gallup Economic Confidence Index, based on the combined data, uses a range between plus-100 (if all answers say the economy is excellent or good and that it is getting better) to minus-100 (if all say it is poor and getting worse).
While nearly half the respondents said the economy was "fair," 44% answered that economic conditions were "getting better" and 50% say they are "getting worse." Those percentages showed an improvement from February’s 39% and 54%, respectively.
The 44% saying the economy was getting better marked the highest percentage for that question since early March 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic began causing lockdowns and restrictions nationwide.
The poll’s results concerning Congress also improved, albeit slightly, due to Democrats.
The latest poll results showed 59% of Democrats, 34% of independents, and 9% of Republicans approved of Congress' performance.
The passage of a $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill only had a small effect on peoples’ satisfaction with Congress, which saw larger increases in public approval following passage of the $2.2 trillion CARES Act, and January’s relief package.
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