Retrospective Assessments of the National Economy
Texans' views on the state of the national economy are improving slowly and gradually, as the longitudinal chart comparing assessments as of October 2010 to previous assessments shows. Fifty-six percent of respondents answered that the national economy is worse off than it was a year ago, slightly more than (and statistically very close to) September's 52% , but overall, part of a steady decline for the peak of 86% in October 2008.. Conversely, 28% of respondents answered that the national economy is better off than it was a year ago, a marked increase from 2% (!) in the first July 2008 University of Texas poll.
Retrospective Assessments of Personal Economic Situations
No such clear trend can be discerned from respondents with respect to their personal economic situations. Much like in previous polls, large and statistically equal percentages of respondents say they and their families are either economically worse off or about the same as they were one year ago, while a significantly smaller percentage of respondents say they and their families are better off than they were one year ago.
Right Direction / Wrong Track
The primary characteristic of the responses to the "right direction/wrong track" item continues to be the gap between Texans' perception of the trajectories of the United States and of Texas.
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1 Numbers don't add up to 100 because of rounding -- see the summary document for exact percentages.
