Economic impact and the return to schooling: A multitude of emotions
In the latest episode of "The Pollster," a podcast co-hosted by Margie Omero (Democrat) and Kristen Soltis Anderson (Republican), the focus was on the current state of the U.S. economy, climate issues, and the 2020 Democratic race. However, this episode did not delve into voters' opinions on potential recession or their preference for Democratic candidates over Trump, nor did it discuss the Consumer Confidence Index, Americans' pessimism, or the dimming economic outlook.
Despite this, the episode provided valuable insights into the economy's current condition. The U.S. economy is experiencing a moderate rebound, but there are signs of slowing momentum and mixed signals from consumer confidence and labor market data. Real GDP rebounded by 3.0% annualized in Q2 2025, but consumer spending and labor market growth have softened, reflecting uncertainty related to tariffs and inflation.
Consumer confidence indexes show a slight recovery but remain cautious and historically low. The University of Michigan's Consumer Sentiment Index rose slightly in July 2025 to 61.8, its highest in five months, but still significantly below December 2024 levels. The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index improved modestly in July 2025 to 97.2, but it remains below 2024 levels.
The labor market conditions are also weakening, impacting consumer sentiment and economic outlook. In July 2025, hiring cooled sharply, with only 73,000 new jobs, and downward revisions to earlier months, suggesting a weakening labor market.
These findings depict an economy in a tentative recovery phase but tempered by ongoing uncertainty over trade policies, inflation, and employment prospects.
The podcast interviews pollsters, journalists, and other industry leaders, providing a comprehensive analysis of the week's biggest stories. The podcast can be followed on Twitter and Facebook to stay up-to-date on the latest polls around the country.
Meanwhile, the 2020 Democratic Presidential Nomination and the 2020 General Election Polls are being tracked by RealClear Politics, though these topics were not discussed in this episode.
In related news, a recent poll finds that Americans are pessimistic despite current economic satisfaction, and roughly half of Trump voters would at least partially blame him for a potential recession. All Democratic candidates are beating Trump as voters' economic outlook dims, according to another poll.
The podcast also delves into other topics, including news, politics, tech, entertainment, and pop culture, offering a friendly look at the numbers driving the week's biggest stories. Past episodes have included discussions on designing a fun board game trivia night, creating a crush's feelings detective quiz, measuring morale with employee satisfaction surveys, and analysing polls from universities such as Monmouth, University of Massachusetts Lowell, Western New England University, and University of New Hampshire.
John Anzalone, a political strategist, also tweeted about the current situation.
[1] "Real GDP, Q2 2025: 3.0% annualized growth." (Source: Bureau of Economic Analysis) [2] "University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index: July 2025." (Source: University of Michigan) [3] "Consumer Confidence Index: July 2025." (Source: The Conference Board) [4] "Employment Situation Summary: July 2025." (Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics) [5] "Economic growth forecasts predict slowing momentum." (Source: The Wall Street Journal)
- The latest episode of "The Pollster" podcast provided valuable insights into the current state of the U.S. economy, touching upon the economy's moderate rebound and signs of slowing momentum.
- Real GDP rebounded by 3.0% annualized in Q2 2025, but consumer spending and labor market growth have softened, reflecting uncertainty related to tariffs and inflation.
- Consumer confidence indexes show a slight recovery but remain cautious and historically low, as depicted by the University of Michigan's Consumer Sentiment Index and The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence Index.
- The labor market conditions are also weakening, impacting consumer sentiment and economic outlook, with hiring cooling sharply in July 2025.
- Past episodes of the podcast have delved into topics beyond economics, exploring news, politics, tech, entertainment, and pop culture.
- A recent poll finds that Americans are pessimistic despite current economic satisfaction, and roughly half of Trump voters would at least partially blame him for a potential recession.
- All Democratic candidates are beating Trump as voters' economic outlook dims, according to another poll, although these topics were not discussed in this episode.
- John Anzalone, a political strategist, also tweeted about the current situation, citing sources such as the Bureau of Economic Analysis, University of Michigan, The Conference Board, and Bureau of Labor Statistics.
