Americans have become increasingly concerned about the economy in recent months, with immigration as their top concern, surpassed only by this issue.
A Gallup poll released Monday found that 17% of Americans rate the economy as the biggest problem facing the country.
Polls show that concerns about the economy have steadily increased in recent months, rising from 12% in January and February to 14% in March and hitting a recent high in April.
The poll trends became clear months before the November presidential election. The issue is expected to play a major role in determining the winner of the rematch between President Biden and former President Donald Trump.
Here’s how Biden’s employment data compares to Trump’s first term:
President Joe Biden. (Yuri Gripas/Abaka/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
President Biden has touted economic recovery in recent months, pointing to low unemployment and better-than-expected gross domestic product growth.
But concerns among Americans remain, with a Gallup poll showing that voters in key battleground states such as Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania rate the issue as their top concern. It follows a previous CBS/YouGov poll that showed.
According to Gallup, 36% of Americans think the economy is their biggest concern, considering inflation and other factors.
Meanwhile, despite a recent decline in illegal border crossings, immigration remains the most important personal issue facing the United States, the poll found.
27% of Americans rate immigration as the biggest problem facing the country, and the issue has topped the list of concerns for the third month in a row.
The poll comes as the number of people crossing the southern border with Mexico has continued to decline in recent months, reaching a record high in December, when Border Patrol encountered more than 300,000 migrants attempting to cross. This was done despite the decrease from That number fell to just over 193,000 in March and continued to decline in April, when Border Patrol agents encountered about 130,000 migrants attempting to enter the country.
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Persistent inflation is one of the factors weighing on Americans concerned about their economic situation. (eye stock)
The White House press secretary said in an interview with Fox News Digital on Tuesday that joint efforts with Mexico and increased U.S. enforcement efforts were successful in turning the tide of the crisis, but many Americans I am still not convinced that the problem is not a big problem.
According to Gallup, immigration has topped the poll’s most important issues four times since 2000, but this will be the first time it has held the top spot for three consecutive months in 2024.
On March 21, 2024, a group of more than 100 immigrants attempt to breach the border wall and illegally enter the United States. (James Breeden, New York Post/Mega)
Migrants caught in new video streaming attempting to illegally cross border on remote mountainside in California
But Gallup also notes that the issue is polarizing, with Republicans far more likely than Democrats to rate immigration as a top priority. In the latest poll, 48% of Republicans rate immigration as the biggest problem facing the country, while only 8% of Democrats feel the same way. Meanwhile, 25% of independents rated this issue as their top concern.
The other issue that is top of mind for many Americans is government, with 20% of respondents rating it as the nation’s biggest problem.
President Biden has recently touted a decline in illegal border crossings. (Getty Images)
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Gallup surveyed a sample of 1,001 adults living in all 50 states and the District of Columbia from April 1 to April 22, with a sampling error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.
