Record level of Americans report poor life ratings: Poll

HOUSTON, United States

Americans are "suffering" at the highest rate in the past 14 years, according to a Gallup poll released on Monday.

The Gallup Life Evaluation Index was at 5.6% in July, exceeding the 4.8% rating measured in April.

It is the highest percentage since the index was established in 2008 and comes during the post-COVID-19 era, where suffering was already high.

The poll, which surveyed 3,649 US adults between July 26 and Aug. 2, classified Americans as either "struggling" or "suffering" versus "thriving" and rated their lives on a scale from 0 to 10.

Those who rate their current and future lives at 4 or lower are classified as suffering.

People registering a rating of 7 or higher, with their anticipated life in five years an 8 or higher, are classified as thriving.

Factors in the poll include worsening economic conditions, high inflation, cutting spending and rising healthcare costs.

The suffering rate has risen dramatically since June 2021, regardless of political affiliation, most notably among Republicans where the percentage has doubled to 5.4%.

Democrats fared no better, with the suffering rate nearly doubling from 2.9% to 5.4% since last year.

Independents were suffering at the highest percentage rate at 6.2% in July, an actual decrease from the 7.3% suffering rate in April.

Less people thriving

On the other end of the scale, the percentage of US adults classified as thriving dropped to an 18-month low of 51.2%, a significant decline since it reached a record high of 59.2% in June 2021.

The lowest recorded thriving rate of 46.4% was measured twice: in November 2008 during the Great Recession and in April 2020 during the initial economic shutdown associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.

While the suffering percentage is relatively consistent with all Americans, the current thriving percentage has declined more for Republicans than their counterparts since June 2021.

In July 2022, 53.0% of Democrats were classified as thriving, compared with 52.2% of Republicans and 47.7% of independents.

The poll also points out that Americans are experiencing more daily stress and worry than one year ago.

The daily stress level in the US is up from 43% to 48% since July 2021. However, that level is well below the 60% recorded in March 2020 at the start of the pandemic.

Daily worry has increased from 38% to 42%, since last year, but those numbers are still significantly lower than the 59% at the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak.

The spikes measured in the poll since March 2020 were about four times greater than the increases seen in 2008 as a result of the Great Recession.

Since reaching a record high in June 2021, life ratings among American adults have steadily worsened.

The 5.6% suffering rate in July marks the first time the Gallup Life Evaluation Index has exceeded 5% in the US and translates to an estimated 14 million American adults being affected.