(POLL) Americans expect inflation to persist over next six months

Nearly eight in 10 Americans say they expect inflation to get worse; half expect it will increase "a lot." A similar percentage of US adults, 78%, say they expect interest rates to rise.

That's according to recent polling conducted by Gallup.

As inflation increases, 46% of Americans predict the stock market will go up, while 29% say they expect it go down.

When it comes to unemployment, 43% of Americans say they expect the rate to fall; 34% say they believe it will go up.

When asked to rate current economic conditions:

• 23% described economic conditions as "excellent or good"
• 40% said they are "only fair"
• 37% said economic conditions are "poor"

Amid concerns with the inflation, Americans view the economy much more negatively than positively. Twenty-nine (29%) say the economy is getting better but 67% say it is getting worse.

Gallup's Economic Confidence Index (ECI) for January yielded a -26 score, which is slightly better than December's score of -33 that tied for the worst since the pandemic began. The higher January score was mainly due to a less negative assessment of current economic conditions.

Before the coronavirus pandemic began, Americans viewed the economy much more favorably, than negatively.

See more Gallup survey results here