Most Americans say U.S. into recession despite poll data:

A student graduating from Harvard Business School has an American flag with a dollar bill tied to it during the 26th commencement exercises at Harvard University in Cambridge (Massachusetts), June 5, 2008.

Credit: Reuters/Brian SnyderBy David Morgan

WASHINGTON | Thu 28 april 2011, 9: 47 am EDT

WASHINGTON (Reuters)-more than half of Americans say the u.s. economy in a recession or a depression despite official data showing that a moderate recovery, according to a survey released on Thursday.

The 20-23 April Gallup survey of 1,013 U.S. adults found that only 27 percent said the economy is growing. Twenty-nine percent said the economy is in a depression and 26 percent said it in a recession, with another 16% say it is "slow down," Gallup said.

The poll findings have a percentage of 4 point margin of error, according to Gallup.

The health of the u.s. economy will be an important issue as President Barack Obama, a Democrat, seeks re-election in 2012.

The Government reported on Thursday that US economic growth slowed more than expected to 1.8 percent in the first quarter of the year, as rising food and gasoline prices drained consumer purchasing power.

A slowdown in the growth of the first quarter was approved on Wednesday by the Federal Reserve, who described the US economic recovery as you proceed in a "moderate pace." That was a step back from the "secure" that the Fed officials cited for the recovery in March.

The Gallup poll found that Democrats are the most likely to say that the economy grows. Forty-three percent of Democrats said that the economy is in a recession or depression, 13 percent said that it slows down and 42 percent said it grows.

Sixty-eight percent of Republicans and supporters of the conservative Tea Party movement said that the economy is in a recession or a depression. Fourteen percent of Republicans and 13% of the Tea Party supporters said that the economy is growing.

Fifty-seven percent of independent voters--a crucial segment of the voters for Obama the re-election bid--said that the economy is in a recession or depression and 24 percent said it grows.

(Edit by Will Dunham)

View the original article here