Economy still sluggish as Americans prepare to vote

Associated Press

WASHINGTON

The last read on the economy before the midterm elections found Americans are spending a little more but not nearly enough to bring down high unemployment — one final bit of bad news for Democrats.

The economy expanded at a 2 percent pace from July to September, the Commerce Department said Friday. It marked a slight improvement from the scant 1.7 percent growth rate in the previous quarter.

But to keep up with population growth and actually bring down unemployment, the economy must grow much faster. Economists figure it takes growth at a rate of about 5 percent for a full year to lower the jobless rate by a percentage point.

Democrats risk losing control of the House and perhaps the Senate on Tuesday at a time when nearly 15 million Americans are out of work and the jobless rate is 9.6 percent.

“The eggheads say the recession is over. But it still feels like one out there,” noted Ken Goldstein, an economist at the Conference Board, a research group that monitors consumer behavior. Economists declared that the recession technically ended in June 2009.

“It is not just anger at the politicians,” he added. “When voters come out of the voting booth and go to work, they will still be angry. They are angry that we’re not even close to being out of this.”

The economy is the top issue for voters. More than 70 percent say it’s in poor condition, according to the most recent Associated Press-GfK Poll, conducted earlier this month.

Nearly three in five disapprove of how President Barack Obama has handled the economy, and voters trust Republicans more than Democrats on the issue by a 10-point margin, the poll found.