WASHINGTON–Americans closed out 2016 with higher economic confidence than they have reported since 2008, according to Gallup's Economic Confidence Index, which averaged +9 in December, up eight points from November.
According to Gallup, the record-high confidence is largely the result of increased optimism among Republicans after November's election. Before President-elect Donald Trump's victory, the index score was negative in nearly all weekly and monthly readings Gallup has recorded since 2008, the company said.
Gallup reported that for the final week in December, the index averaged +11, the best weekly average in Gallup's tracking trend.
According to Gallup, its U.S. Economic Confidence Index is the average of two components: how Americans rate current economic conditions and whether they feel the economy is improving or getting worse. The index has a theoretical maximum of +100 if all Americans were to say the economy is doing well and improving, and a theoretical minimum of -100 if all Americans were to say the economy is doing poorly and getting worse, Gallup said.