Most Americans Fear Recession in the Next 12 Months, Poll Finds

Most Americans expect a recession within a year and disapprove of President George W. Bush's handling of the economy even though the unemployment rate is at a five-year low, a new Bloomberg/Los Angeles Times poll found.

Six in 10 who were surveyed predicted a recession, similar to the 64 percent who anticipated the economy would contract in a December 2000 poll by the Los Angeles Times three months before the last decline. In the current survey, 71 percent of those earning less than $40,000 said they expect a recession compared with about half for those making more than $100,000.

``We're living on borrowed time,'' said Andrew Herring, 43, a chemical engineering professor at the Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colorado, who took part in the survey. ``We spend ridiculous amounts of money on the war and now we have issues with the subprime housing market,'' said Herring, a Democrat.

Fifty-seven percent of those surveyed disapproved of Bush's handling of the economy and 38 percent approved, his worst showing in eight months. Nonetheless, 57 percent said the economy is doing well. That was down 11 points from January.

The Department of Labor reported on April 6 that the economy added 180,000 new jobs in March and the unemployment rate fell to 4.4 percent, matching October's five-year low. On the minus side, gasoline prices have risen 29 percent since January and the housing market has cooled.

Sixty-four percent of those polled said their own finances are very or fairly secure compared with 35 percent who described them as shaky.