Unhappiness reaches historic high

Beaten down by coronavirus lockdowns and soaring unemployment, America has descended into a gloomy mood, with more people saying they’re unhappy than at any other time in 48 years of record-keeping, according to a new survey.

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June 17, 2020 - 9:04 AM

It’s starting to look like the Unhappy States of America.

Beaten down by coronavirus lockdowns and soaring unemployment, America has descended into a gloomy mood, with more people saying they’re unhappy than at any other time in 48 years of record-keeping, according to a new survey.

Some 23% of Americans polled in late May said they felt less than happy, a historic surge for a figure that has stuck to a band between 10% and 14% for almost two decades, according to NORC, a pollster at the University of Chicago.

The share of people who characterized themselves as very happy hit 14%, the lowest rate for the question since its introduction in 1972.

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