US / 59% Think the Economy Is In a Recession

The IBD/TIPP Economic Optimism Index declined by 5.1  points, or 10.8%, in March, posting 42.2 vs. 47.3 in February.  The index is 5.5 points below its 12-month average of 47.7, 2.2 points below its reading of 44.4 in December 2007 when the economy entered the recession, and 7.5 points below its all-time average of 49.7.

Note: Index readings above 50 indicate optimism; below 50 indicate pessimism.

The IBD/TIPP Economic Optimism Index has three key components.  This month, all of the three components declined.

“Americans across-the-board think that the economic outlook is grim.  The big slide in our economic outlook sub-index perhaps signals a turning point and an impending entry into a recession.  This month sixty percent believe that the economy is in a recession,” said Raghavan Mayur, president of TIPP, a unit of TechnoMetrica Market Intelligence, IBD’s polling partner.

“Given the spate of tax hikes hitting Americans and the cynical manipulation and exaggeration of the impacts of the sequester in Washington, Americans seem to be fed up,” said Terry Jones, associate editor of Investor’s Business Daily. “This could be a political game-changer in the nation’s capital.”

Chosen excerpts by Job Market Monitor

via U.S. Consumer Confidence Nosedives in March; 59% Think the Economy Is In a Recession – tipponline.