We Just Got 6 More Confirmations That The U.S. Economy Is Moving In The Wrong Direction

Nobody can deny that the U.S. economy deteriorated dramatically during the four years that Joe Biden was in the White House. In fact, it was probably the biggest reason why the Democrats lost control of the White House. The American people were desperate for change, because economic conditions had become extremely painful. Of course the Biden years were just one chapter in America’s long-term economic decline. Debt levels have been exploding and our standard of living has been deteriorating for a very long time, but there was hope that conditions would start to improve in 2025.

Unfortunately, that has not materialized. As I have documented in previous articles, large companies are going bankrupt at the fastest pace that we have seen since the global financial crisis, the housing bubble is starting to burst, 78 percent of HR leaders in the U.S. say that their companies are conducting “serial layoffs”, store closings are on pace to set a brand new record high in 2025, and in 25 percent of all U.S. households at least one person is skipping meals so that there will be enough money to pay the bills.

Nobody that understands those facts can claim that the U.S. economy is in good shape.

And we just got 6 more confirmations that the U.S. economy is moving in the wrong direction…

#1 A shocking CBS News/YouGov survey that was just released has discovered that the percentage of Americans that believe that economic conditions are getting worse is more than twice as high as the percentage of Americans that believe that economic conditions are getting better…

According to the latest CBS News/YouGov survey, Americans are repeatedly rating the economy unfavorably, with a majority of respondents choosing the words “uncertain” and “struggling” to describe its current state. Other words, including “unfair” (37%), “punishing” (25%), “rebounding” (20%), “expanding” (15%), and “fair” (14%), trailed behind.

Most U.S. adults believe the economy is getting worse rather than improving, the poll found. Fifty-six percent of respondents said the economy is trending downward, 27% said it is trending upward and 17% argue it is remaining steady.

#2 The U.S. economy must produce about 150,000 new jobs each month just to keep up with population growth. So the fact that ADP is reporting that we were below that level once again last month is a very troubling sign…

U.S. private sector hiring rose less than expected in August, data released Thursday shows, offering the latest indication of trouble in the labor market.

Private payrolls increased by just 54,000 in August, according to data from processing firm ADP published Thursday morning. That’s below the consensus forecast of 75,000 from economists polled by Dow Jones and marks a significant slowdown from the revised gain of 106,000 seen in the prior month.

#3 Initial claims for unemployment benefits increased to 237,000 last week…

Jobless claims increased to 237,000, up 8,000 from the prior week and above estimates, per data also published Thursday morning.

#4 The number of job openings in the U.S. has fallen to the lowest level in nearly five years…

Job openings ticked down in July to levels rarely seen since the Covid-19 pandemic, bolstering fears of cooling in the labor market.

The Job Openings and Labor Turnover report showed around 7.18 million listings in July, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics released Wednesday. That’s only the second reading under the 7.2 million level since the end of 2020.

#5 Mass layoffs continue to happen all over the nation. For example, ConocoPhillips is reducing its workforce by 20 to 25 percent…

ConocoPhillips, one of the largest independent exploration and production (E&P) companies in the U.S., told employees earlier that it plans to reduce its overall workforce by around 25%. The announcement comes as U.S. economic data show signs of softening, such as the disappointing jobs figures earlier today, which have pushed the odds of a 25-basis-point interest rate cut later this month to nearly 96%. WTI crude prices are trading lower amid increased concerns about OPEC supply.

A company spokesperson confirmed to Reuters that ConocoPhillips will cut its workforce by 20% to 25%. At the end of 2024, the company employed 11,800 people globally. A 25% reduction would put nearly 3,000 jobs at risk.

#6 U.S. manufacturing activity has now contracted for sixth months in a row…

U.S. manufacturing contracted for a sixth straight month in August as factories dealt with the fallout from the Trump administration’s import tariffs, with some manufacturers describing the current business environment as “much worse than the Great Recession.”

The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) survey on Tuesday also showed some manufacturers complaining that the sweeping import duties were making it difficult to manufacture goods in the United States.

The steady decline in manufacturing activity that we are witnessing is an early warning sign.

Pretty soon the ripple effects will be felt throughout the rest of the economy.

I wish that I could honestly tell you that a major economic turnaround was right around the corner.

But I can’t do that.

The four years of the Biden administration did an immense amount of damage to our economy.

At the end of last year I warned that all of our economic momentum was taking us in the wrong direction, and that is still true today.

If you think that economic conditions are bad now, just wait, because the next few years are going to be extremely chaotic.

As I stated the other day, consequences do not always show up immediately, but they always arrive eventually.

The federal government is 37 trillion dollars in debt, U.S. households are 18 trillion dollars in debt, the value of our currency is being destroyed, our standard of living gets worse with each passing day, and the Federal Reserve has made a giant mess of things.

So yeah, I am not optimistic about the economy.

I know that so many of you are really struggling in this very harsh economic environment.

No matter what happens, you must never give up.

The system is failing, but you must not ever allow your life to be defined by what happens to the system.

You are here for a reason, and it will be so important to remember that during the very challenging days that are ahead.

Michael’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com, and you can subscribe to his Substack newsletter at michaeltsnyder.substack.com.

About the Author: Michael Snyder’s new book entitled “10 Prophetic Events That Are Coming Next” is available in paperback and for the Kindle on Amazon.com. He has also written nine other books that are available on Amazon.com including “Chaos”, “End Times”, “7 Year Apocalypse”, “Lost Prophecies Of The Future Of America”, “The Beginning Of The End”, and “Living A Life That Really Matters”. When you purchase any of Michael’s books you help to support the work that he is doing. You can also get his articles by email as soon as he publishes them by subscribing to his Substack newsletter. Michael has published thousands of articles on The Economic Collapse Blog, End Of The American Dream and The Most Important News, and he always freely and happily allows others to republish those articles on their own websites. These are such troubled times, and people need hope. John 3:16 tells us about the hope that God has given us through Jesus Christ: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” If you have not already done so, we strongly urge you to invite Jesus Christ to be your Lord and Savior today.