By the numbers: Where the economy stands on Election Day

The tumultuous presidential campaign has featured a replacement at the top of the Democratic ticket, two apparent assassination attempts against former President Donald Trump and the unexpected significance of a joke made in the race’s final days.

Despite the twists and turns, voters have voiced a consistent priority: the economy matters most. A Gallup poll last month showed that 52% of voters consider the economy an extremely significant influence on their selection for president, far outpacing any other concern.

With polls set to close within hours, ABC information spoke with experts to discuss where the economy stands at the conclusion of the race. Here’s a look at the state of the economy on Election Day, by the numbers.

Prices

worth rise has bedeviled the U.S. for the history several years — but in recent months worth increases have slowed back down to a normal pace.

customer prices rose 2.4% in September compared to a year ago, according to the latest data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

That finding indicates that worth rise has cooled dramatically from a peak of about 9% in 2022, hovering correct near the Federal safety net’s target rate of 2%.

Not only have worth increases slowed, but some costs have even fallen, including the all-significant worth of gasoline. The nationwide average expense of a gallon of gas stands at $3.10, which amounts to a 9% decline from where gas prices stood a year ago, AAA data shows.

“Gas prices have finally quieted down,” Patrick de Haan, the head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, told ABC information. He contrasted a relatively tranquil year for gas markets in 2024 with previous disruptions from the pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war.

While overall worth rise has basically returned to normal, the advancement cannot undo a leap in prices that dates back to the pandemic. Since the outset of 2021, customer prices have skyrocketed more than 20%.

The persistence of elevated worth levels amid slowing worth rise may explain why consumers remain relatively dour about the economy, Jeffrey Frankel, an economist at Harvard University, told ABC information.

customer attitudes have improved over recent months, but they remain far more sour than they were before the pandemic, according to a survey by the University of Michigan.

“The economy really has been better,” Frankel said. “It’s an enormous puzzle for economists as to why community perceptions display something different.”

Economic act

When assessed on a range of measures, the U.S. economy passes with a tidy invoice of health, experts said.

The U.S. economy grew at a robust 2.8% annualized rate over three months ending in September, slowing slightly from the previous quarter but continuing to dispel any concern about a feasible slowdown, according to U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis data released last week.

The latest finding marked the country’s 10th consecutive quarter of financial expansion.

“It’s a miracle that we managed to get worth rise under control as quick as we did, without crushing the economy,” Steven Hamilton, a professor of economics at George Washington University, told ABC information.

The labor trade has slowed but proven resilient in recent months. Employers hired 254,000 workers in September, far exceeding economist expectations, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data showed.

Last month, the U.S. added just 10,000 jobs, but fallout from hurricanes and labor strikes likely caused an undercount of the country’s workers. The unemployment rate stands at a historically low level of 4.1%.

“If there’s a slight cloud over the economy, it’s that the labor trade has softened,” Hamilton said.

The cooldown of the country’s labor trade has coincided with a prolonged period of elevated yield rates. Even after the Federal safety net cut its point of reference yield rate last month, it still stands at an elevated level between 4.75% and 5%.

High rates have made borrowing costly for businesses, while pushing up borrowing rates for borrowing cards and mortgages. The average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage is 6.72%, which marks an boost from 6.08% in September. Before the pandemic, the average mortgage rate stood between 3% and 4%.