Politics

Polls Show ‘Very Bad’ Drop in Confidence on Jobs Under Trump: CNN Analyst

By Jake Beardslee · September 5, 2025

A growing majority of Americans believe the U.S. economy is deteriorating under President Donald Trump, with unemployment rising and analysts warning of worsening conditions, according to a new jobs report and public opinion surveys.

“Donald Trump was hired, or rehired, to fix the economy, and Americans don’t like what’s cooking with the economy,” said CNN forecaster Harry Enten on Friday. “They think the economy is weak, weak, weak.”

Enten highlighted the shift in public sentiment since last November, when Democrats lost the White House. At that time, 42% of Americans thought the economy was worsening. Ten months later, a “clear majority,” 56%, now say things are getting worse, while only about one in four say conditions are improving. “This is no bueno,” Enten remarked.

Jobs and unemployment are proving to be major sticking points for the public. In January, 40% of Americans said the country was on the “right track” regarding jobs, compared to 32% who said “wrong track,” according to Enten. Today, the “wrong track” number has surged to 48%, while “right track” has fallen to 33%. “Now the clear plurality of Americans think that we are on the wrong track when it comes to jobs and unemployment,” Enten explained. “Going from 40% to 33%, that is very, very, very bad.”

The president’s approval rating on jobs has also taken a sharp downturn. Last year, then-President Joe Biden was underwater by eight points on the issue. Trump initially reversed that trend, reaching a nine-point positive margin when he entered office in January 2025. But his approval has since collapsed to minus 13 points — a 24-point swing in just months.

“Donald Trump was hired to fix the economy, but when it comes to jobs and employment, look at that, minus 13, that is worse than Joe Biden was doing in December of 2024,” Enten said. He added that Biden “was in the basement, and yet Donald Trump is even lower down than him. You can barely get an elevator that goes that low.”