Throughout 2025, about three-quarters of Americans said their incomes were not keeping pace with inflation, according to a CBS News poll released today, and views of the overall economy remain low, with 32% saying that the condition of the economy is good.
On personal finances, about half of the country continues to say their financial situation is good, while about half say it is bad, which has been the case throughout the year.
Overall, for those whose financial situation changed over the year, more said it got worse rather than better. But those who did feel their situation improved were also more likely to be those with higher incomes.
The public's evaluations of the U.S. job market specifically remain net negative. This comes as the latest government data shows somewhat of a mixed bag: more jobs were added in November than economists expected, but the unemployment rate ticked up to its highest level since September 2021.
Among the bright spots, on balance, more Americans rate the condition of the stock market as good than rate it as bad, and that's particularly so among those for whom the market's performance matters a lot to their finances.
More Americans now say the price of gas in their area is coming down than say it's going up — a reversal from what we saw this fall and over the year.