Biden's job approval keeps falling as economic concerns grow

WASHINGTON (BLOOMBERG) - US President Joe Biden's standing with Americans continues to fall as a majority of people surveyed by Pew Research Centre said the US economy has worsened due to soaring prices.

With midterm elections looming in November, a majority of respondents in the poll expressed little or no confidence in Mr Biden amid unusually high inflation and surging Covid-19 cases.

Overall, 41 per cent of adults approve of Mr Biden's job performance in the January poll, down from 44 per cent in September and 55 per cent in August.

In a highly polarised country, Democrats have become less supportive of the President and less satisfied with the way things are going in the country, according to Pew. About one-third of Democrats rate the economy as excellent or good.

Nearly nine in 10 respondents said that prices for food and consumer goods are worse than a year ago in the Pew survey, released on Tuesday (Jan 25). They also had a more negative view of housing and healthcare costs, the availability of goods and the federal budget deficit.

Among the few silver linings: the labour market, with a majority saying the availability of jobs has improved in the country.

Besides the uncertain economy, the President is facing major challenges as he enters his second year in office. They include the pandemic, with the Omicron variant continuing to spread fast across the country, and international tensions.

As the Federal Reserve prepares to raise interest rates to help cool off decades-high inflation, the poll shows that taming surging prices will be key for the administration.

Pew's survey was conducted from Jan 10 to Jan 17 among 5,128 adults.