This is the worst economic crisis of our lifetimes. Yet 30% of Americans think the economy is fine

There are key differences that may be affecting how Americans see and feel this downturn. The Great Recession was often dubbed “man-cession” because so many jobs in male-dominated sectors like manufacturing and construction vanished. This time around, job losses have been concentrated in the services sector — particularly in hospitality and travel industries, which employ more women than men.

The trend holds elsewhere in the world where Pew surveyed, too. A median 67% of Europeans think the economy is doing poorly, versus a median 32% who think everything is just dandy. But as recently as 2013, in the aftermath of the Eurozone sovereign debt crisis, only 15% thought their nations’ economies were doing well.

Pew surveyed people in Italy, Spain, France, the United Kingdom, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark with widely varying results.

In Italy, Spain, France, Britain and Belgium, the majority of people thought the economy was in bad shape.

One significant factor affecting economic views is public perception of how the pandemic was handled: Those who believe the Covid-19 response was poor also believe their country’s economy is doing poorly.

This is especially true in the United States, where 87% of people critical of the pandemic response believe the economy is in bad shape.