Two in three Americans say a double-dip recession — defined as a recession followed by a short-lived recovery, followed by another recession — is now likely to happen, a survey shows.
As a result, more than three-fourths of the 1,043 Americans surveyed by StrategyOne plan to spend less this Christmas, and 41 percent plans to curb spending over the coming three to four months.
Among those who expect a double-dip recession, nearly half (44 percent) fear it will be worse than the first one, with 21 percent worried it will be “much more severe,” according to the survey from StrategyOne, a unit of public relations firm Daniel J. Edelman Co. Just 24 percent think the second recession will be less severe.
These findings come from a recently conducted survey of 1,043 Americans by the polling firm StrategyOne, a Daniel J. Edelman company.
As they are bracing for a second downturn, Americans are certainly not holding their breath for a full recovery coming anytime soon. Just 5 percent think there will be a full economic recovery by the end of this year, and only another 21 percent see recovery taking place by the end of 2011. Half of the 1,043 Americans that StrategyOne polled see a recovery not coming until sometime after the end of 2011, and about a quarter (23 percent) doubt our economy will ever fully recover.
“As we enter the 34th month since the ‘Great Recession’ began, we see the mind-set of consumers turning even more cautious and conservative than what we have seen previously,” said StrategyOne Senior Vice President Bradley Honan. “The consumer economic engine which drives our growth is either stalled or stuck in first gear. Until consumers feel more confident and are willing to spend more freely, growth will likely be anemic at best.”
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