In previous recessions, there has been widespread pessimism about the overall economy. But this recession was the first since the survey began in 1967 when more people expected their own incomes to fall.<\/p>\n
Before this recession, no survey ever showed as few as 15 percent of Americans optimistic about their own prospects. But since October 2008, when the financial crisis intensified after the failure of Lehman Brothers, the figure has been below 15 percent. Similarly, the proportion of pessimists had never been as high as 15 percent before the financial crisis, but it has been above that figure for the last two years.<\/p>\n
At the height of the financial crisis, in March 2009, less than 8 percent of Americans expected their incomes to improve, while about 24 percent anticipated a decline. The figures released this week showed about 10 percent were optimistic about their incomes, while about 16 percent still expected a fall.<\/p>\n