6 in 10 Americans Optimistic That Economy is Looking Up, Happier Than at Any Time Since 2008

By Good News Network Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Most Popular - General

Two-thirds of Americans are optimistic that they will be better off financially next year than they are now, according to a new USA Today/Gallup poll.

Though most Americans say the current economic conditions are poor, "58 percent say they believe the economy will be good in 2013, while two-thirds predicted that their personal finances will be better by next year," reports Politico.

In a separate Gallup poll, fewer Americans are experiencing daily worry or stress.

Americans' emotional heath, self-measured by how much they smiled, laughed and enjoyed recent days, is now higher than it has been in any month since Gallup and Healthways started tracking it in January 2008.

Americans' emotional health has generally been improving since September, and scored slightly above the previous high of 79.8 recorded in March 2008.

The percentage of Americans who did not "worry a lot of the day yesterday" has improved the most. In April, 68.9% of Americans said they did not experience worry a lot of the previous day -- up almost 3% since September.

(READ more about the poll in Gallup)