American Research Group, Inc.


 

March 21, 2024

Biden Overall Job Approval Up

A total of 46% of Americans say they approve of the way Joe Biden is handling his job as president and 50% say they disapprove of the way Biden is handling his job according to the latest survey from the American Research Group. In February, 43% approved of the way Biden was handling his job as president and 51% disapproved.

When it comes to Biden's handling of the economy, 43% of Americans approve and 52% disapprove. In February, 41% approved of the way Biden was handling the economy and 53% disapproved.

Among Americans registered to vote, 46% approve of the way Biden is handling his job as president and 50% disapprove. On Biden's handling of the economy, 44% of registered voters approve and 51% disapprove.

Of the 46% of Americans saying they approve of the way Biden is handling his job as president, 74% say they expect the national economy will be better a year from now. Of the 50% saying they disapprove of the way Biden his handling his job as president, 74% say they expect the national economy will be worse a year from now.

Of the 46% of Americans saying they approve of the way Biden is handling his job as president, 52% say they expect the financial situations in their households will be better a year from now. Of the 50% saying they disapprove of the way Biden his handling his job as president, 40% say they expect the financial situations in their households will be worse a year from now.

The results presented here are based on 1,100 completed interviews conducted among a nationwide random sample of adults March 17 through 20, 2024. The theoretical margin of error for the total sample is plus or minus 3 percentage points, 95% of the time, on questions where opinion is evenly split.

Overall, 46% of Americans say that they approve of the way Joe Biden is handling his job as president, 50% disapprove, and 4% are undecided.

Biden job approval Approve Disapprove Undecided
Mar 2024 46% 50% 4%
Feb 2024 43% 51% 6%
Jan 2024 40% 54% 6%
Dec 2023 37% 57% 6%
Nov 2023 37% 57% 6%
Oct 2023 38% 56% 6%
Sep 2023 39% 56% 5%
Aug 2023 41% 54% 5%
Jul 2023 40% 56% 4%
Jun 2023 40% 54% 6%
May 2023 41% 52% 7%
Apr 2023 43% 51% 6%
Mar 2023 46% 49% 5%

Among Republicans (30% of adults registered to vote in the survey and 27% of all adults in the survey), 7% approve of the way Biden is handling his job and 88% disapprove. Among Democrats (32% of adults registered to vote in the survey and 29% of all adults in the survey), 84% approve and 13% disapprove of the way Biden is handling his job. Among independents (38% of adults registered to vote in the survey and 35% of all adults in the survey), 45% approve and 51% disapprove of the way Biden is handling his job as president.

Overall, 43% of Americans say that they approve of the way Joe Biden is handling the economy, 52% disapprove, and 5% are undecided. Among registered voters, 44% approve and 51% disapprove of the way Biden is handling the economy.

Biden handling the economy Approve Disapprove Undecided
Mar 2024 43% 52% 5%
Feb 2024 41% 53% 6%
Jan 2024 38% 57% 5%
Dec 2023 38% 56% 6%
Nov 2023 35% 60% 5%
Oct 2023 35% 59% 6%
Sep 2023 37% 59% 4%
Aug 2023 37% 58% 5%
Jul 2023 40% 56% 4%
Jun 2023 37% 56% 7%
May 2023 39% 55% 6%
Apr 2023 42% 52% 6%
Mar 2023 45% 49% 6%

Among Republicans, 8% approve of the way Biden is handling the economy and 89% disapprove. Among Democrats, 80% approve of the way Biden is handling the economy and 13% disapprove. Among independents, 42% approve and 54% disapprove of the way Biden is handling the economy.

A total of 34% of Americans say that the national economy is getting better, 23% say it is staying the same, and 40% say the national economy is getting worse.

National economy

Getting better

Staying the same

Getting worse

Undecided

Mar 2024 34% 23% 40% 3%
Feb 2024 32% 20% 44% 4%
Jan 2024 29% 15% 52% 4%
Dec 2023 24% 16% 56% 4%
Nov 2023 22% 17% 55% 6%
Oct 2023 25% 14% 55% 6%
Sep 2023 27% 16% 53% 4%
Aug 2023 29% 13% 54% 4%
Jul 2023 28% 14% 54% 4%
Jun 2023 27% 15% 53% 5%
May 2023 29% 16% 50% 5%
Apr 2023 30% 15% 50% 5%
Mar 2023 33% 14% 50% 3%

Among those saying they approve of the way Biden is handling his job, 74% say getting better, 20% say staying the same, and 4% say getting worse. Of those saying they disapprove of the way Biden is handling his job, less than 1% say getting better, 25% say staying the same, and 74% say getting worse.

A total of 41% of Americans say they believe the national economy will be better a year from now, 24% say it will be the same, and 29% say it will be worse.

National economy a year from now

Better than today

The same as today

Worse than today

Undecided

Mar 2024 41% 24% 29% 6%
Feb 2024 37% 25% 31% 7%
Jan 2024 35% 26% 38% 1%
Dec 2023 30% 29% 40% 1%
Nov 2023 29% 28% 42% 1%
Oct 2023 32% 23% 44% 1%
Sep 2023 33% 25% 41% 1%
Aug 2023 35% 24% 39% 2%
Jul 2023 32% 24% 42% 2%
Jun 2023 34% 23% 41% 2%
May 2023 33% 24% 41% 2%
Apr 2023 37% 17% 44% 2%
Mar 2023 37% 18% 42% 3%

Among those saying they approve of the way Biden is handling his job, 65% say better, 30% say the same as today, and 4% say worse than today. Among those saying they disapprove of the way Biden is handling his job as president, 17% say better, 21% say the same, and 50% say worse.

Overall, 40% of Americans say they believe that the national economy is in a recession, 50% say they do not believe the economy is in a recession, and 10% are undecided.

National economy in a recession Yes No Undecided
Mar 2024 40% 50% 10%
Feb 2024 42% 47% 11%
Jan 2024 46% 41% 13%
Dec 2023 47% 39% 14%
Nov 2023 47% 38% 15%
Oct 2023 46% 41% 13%
Sep 2023 47% 39% 14%
Aug 2023 48% 39% 13%
Jul 2023 51% 38% 11%
Jun 2023 49% 37% 14%
May 2023 47% 39% 14%
Apr 2023 45% 39% 16%
Mar 2023 43% 43% 14%

Among those saying they approve of the way Biden is handling his job, 7% say the national economy is in a recession, 87% say the national economy is not in a recession, and 6% are undecided. Of those saying they disapprove of the way Biden is handling his job, 71% say the national economy is in a recession, 21% say the national economy is not in a recession, and 8% are undecided.

A total of 53% of Americans rate the national economy as excellent, very good, or good and 46% rate it as bad, very bad, or terrible.

National economy

Excellent

Very good

Good

Bad

Very bad

Terrible

Undecided

Mar 2024 13% 13% 27% 22% 9% 15% 1%
Feb 2024 13% 11% 25% 25% 9% 16% 1%
Jan 2024 10% 10% 26% 35% 8% 10% 1%
Dec 2023 8% 12% 27% 36% 6% 10% 1%
Nov 2023 9% 11% 28% 37% 6% 8% 1%
Oct 2023 10% 13% 24% 33% 8% 11% 1%
Sep 2023 9% 16% 24% 28% 7% 15% 1%
Aug 2023 9% 16% 24% 25% 7% 18% 1%
Jul 2023 8% 17% 24% 26% 8% 16% 1%
Jun 2023 8% 15% 25% 28% 6% 17% 1%
May 2023 8% 16% 25% 28% 7% 15% 1%
Apr 2023 6% 17% 23% 30% 8% 15% 1%
Mar 2023 4% 20% 22% 29% 9% 17% 1%

Among those saying they approve of the way Biden is handling his job, 97% say very good, or good and 2% say bad, very bad, or terrible. Among those saying they disapprove of the way Biden is handling his job, 13% say very good, or good and 86% say bad, very bad, or terrible.

When it comes to rating their household financial situations, 77% of Americans give an excellent, very good, or good rating and 22% give a bad, very bad, or terrible rating.

Household financial situation

Excellent

Very good

Good

Bad

Very bad

Terrible

Undecided

Mar 2024 19% 25% 33% 18% 2% 2% 1%
Feb 2024 18% 22% 34% 20% 2% 3% 1%
Jan 2024 18% 20% 32% 23% 5% 1% 1%
Dec 2023 15% 21% 34% 22% 6% 1% 1%
Nov 2023 15% 21% 36% 19% 7% 1% 1%
Oct 2023 15% 21% 32% 21% 9% 1% 1%
Sep 2023 15% 21% 33% 20% 9% 1% 1%
Aug 2023 16% 23% 31% 18% 8% 3% 1%
Jul 2023 14% 22% 33% 22% 7% 1% 1%
Jun 2023 13% 22% 35% 20% 7% 1% 2%
May 2023 15% 22% 33% 20% 8% 1% 1%
Apr 2023 16% 19% 33% 23% 7% 1% 1%
Mar 2023 14% 19% 34% 21% 9% 1% 2%

Among those saying they approve of the way Biden is handling his job, 94% say excellent, very good, or good and 5% say bad, very bad, or terrible. Among those saying they disapprove of the way Biden is handling his job, 59% say very good, or good and 40% say bad, very bad, or terrible.

A total of 16% of Americans say they think the financial situations in their households are getting better, 50% say staying the same, and 33% say getting worse.

Household financial situation

Getting better

Staying the same

Getting worse

Undecided

Mar 2024 16% 50% 33% 1%
Feb 2024 15% 48% 36% 1%
Jan 2024 15% 43% 41% 1%
Dec 2023 12% 43% 44% 1%
Nov 2023 11% 46% 42% 1%
Oct 2023 14% 39% 46% 1%
Sep 2023 14% 39% 46% 1%
Aug 2023 16% 40% 42% 2%
Jul 2023 14% 39% 45% 2%
Jun 2023 15% 41% 42% 2%
May 2023 17% 41% 41% 1%
Apr 2023 19% 39% 41% 1%
Mar 2023 21% 39% 38% 2%

Among those saying they approve of the way Biden is handling his job, 35% say getting better, 61% say staying the same, and 3% say getting worse. Among those saying they disapprove of the way Biden is handling his job, less than 1% say getting better, 38% say staying the same, and 61% say getting worse.

Looking to a year from now, 34% of Americans say that they think their household financial situations will be better than today, 41% say the same as today, and 24% say worse than today.

Household financial situation a year from now

Better than today

The same as today

Worse than
today

Undecided

Mar 2024 34% 41% 24% 1%
Feb 2024 33% 40% 26% 1%
Jan 2024 28% 41% 30% 1%
Dec 2023 25% 38% 36% 1%
Nov 2023 25% 40% 34% 1%
Oct 2023 27% 34% 38% 1%
Sep 2023 28% 33% 38% 1%
Aug 2023 26% 34% 37% 3%
Jul 2023 22% 35% 41% 2%
Jun 2023 23% 34% 41% 2%
May 2023 24% 34% 40% 2%
Apr 2023 26% 29% 43% 2%
Mar 2023 28% 28% 40% 4%

Among those saying they approve of the way Biden is handling his job, 52% say better than today, 44% say the same as today, and 3% say worse than today. Among those saying they disapprove of the way Biden is handling his job, 21% say better than today, 38% say the same as today, and 40% say worse than today.


About this Survey -

Survey Sponsor: American Research Group, Inc.

The American Research Group has been conducting national surveys of consumers since 1985.

Sample Size: 1,100 completed interviews among a random sample of all adults age 18 and older living in households in the continental United States (see methodology for details). There were 299 Republicans, 321 Democrats, 384 independents, and 96 non-voters in the sample.

Sample Dates: March 17-20, 2024

Margin of Error: ± 3 percentage points, 95% of the time, on questions where opinion is evenly split.

Question Wording and Order:

Do you approve or disapprove of the way Joe Biden is handling his job as president?

Do you approve or disapprove of the way Joe Biden is handling the economy?

How do you rate the condition of the national economy these days - would you say it is excellent, very good, good, bad, very bad, or terrible?

Do you think the national economy is getting better, staying the same, or getting worse?

Would you say that the national economy is in a recession, or not?

A year from now, do you expect the national economy to be better than it is today, the same as it is today, or worse than it is today?

How do you rate the condition of the financial situation in your household - would you say it is excellent, very good, good, bad, very bad, or terrible?

Do you think the financial situation in your household is getting better, staying the same, or getting worse?

A year from now, do you expect the financial situation in your household to be better than it is today, the same as it is today, or worse than it is today?

 

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