Democrats and Republicans agree on 2 things about the economy: Survey

Chuck Schumer (left) (D-NY), presents Mitch McConnell (right) (R-KY) with a bottle of bourbon at the University of Louisville’s McConnell Center. (Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)
Chuck Schumer (left) (D-NY), presents Mitch McConnell (right) (R-KY) with a bottle of bourbon at the University of Louisville’s McConnell Center. (Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)

When it comes to the economy, there is little agreement across the aisle. Except on matters of personal finance and automation, according to a new report from Jed Kolko, chief economist at the online jobs site Indeed.

The report surveyed 2,000 adults in the U.S. on matters of the national economy, labor market policies, and more. What surprised Kolko, he says, was how little difference existed between both parties in their views of their own financial situation: 52% of Republicans and roughly 45% of Democrats rated their own financial situation as excellent or good.

“The similarity between Democrats and Republicans in how they view their personal situation is more in line with how they’re actually doing in the economy,” he said.

Source: Indeed
Source: Indeed

This is consistent with an August report from Indeed that showed the market recovery benefited both Democrats and Republicans.

The labor market has done well under Trump,” the report said. “Yet, for the most part, these gains represent a continuation of the long recovery that began early in Obama’s first term. And the benefits have been well distributed — both red and blue America have shared in them.”

Interestingly, Democrats and Republicans also agreed on automation — 60% of respondents in both camps believe robots and automation will imperil jobs.

“I was surprised that there wasn’t a bigger partisan gap about automation because Republican areas tend to have more jobs at risk than Democratic areas,” Kolko said.

The Red-Blue Divide

But this is where the bipartisanship ends.

Nearly three-quarters of Republicans viewed the economy as excellent or good, compared to just 43% of Democrats. And when it comes to how Trump is handling the economy, the chasm grows. On the economy, Trump has an 85% approval rating among Republicans. Those numbers dwindle to only 21% of Democrats.

This is in line with the dip in economic confidence from Democrats after the election, and a surge from Republicans. But, says Kolko, the increase in Republican confidence was bigger than the dip in confidence from Democrats.

“Republicans are more upbeat about the economy than Democrats are downbeat,” Kolko says.

The bipartisan differences don’t end there. Republicans and Democrats are also at odds over the job market, and agree on little when it comes to labor policies.

Most labor policy ideas are highly partisan, as this table shows. Credit: Indeed
Most labor policy ideas are highly partisan, as this table shows. Credit: Indeed

All the labor market policies surveyed were pretty unpopular. The most liked on the list — jobs guarantee — had relative bipartisan support. But it’s worth noting, says Kolko, that this was only among those who are least likely to vote.

The least popular policy on the list, tariffs, was more than twice as popular with Republicans than Democrats. But tariffs still received less than 25% Republican support of those surveyed.