Washington (CNN) – Americans appear slightly more optimistic about the economy than they did at the start of the year, according to a new national poll.
“While that’s not a great number, it’s significantly higher than the 12 percent who felt that way in January,” says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland.
Thirty-four percent of people questioned in the poll says the economy is still in a downturn, but that’s dropped five points from the 39 percent who felt that way at the start of the year.
According to the survey, nearly half the public says that a recovery has not started but that conditions have stabilized. The 46 percent who said the economy’s stabilized is down three points from January.
The CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll was conducted April 9-11, with 1,008 adult Americans questioned by telephone. The survey’s overall sampling error is plus or minus three percentage points.
–CNN Deputy Political Director Paul Steinhauser contributed to this report