Are we in a recession?

The data says the economy's doing OK, not great but acceptable. The American public thinks otherwise.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Nearly half of Americans think the U.S. economy is in a recession — close to 46 percent of those surveyed in a new CNN-Opinion Research Corporation Poll out Thursday morning say the country’s economy is in a recession while 51 percent of those questioned say no.

The poll finds a major difference of opinion between black and white Americans — 69 percent of black Americans questioned in the survey say the country’s in a recession while only 42 percent of white Americans feel the same way.

According to CNN’s Ali Velshi, the National Bureau of Economic Research defines a recession as “a significant decline in economic activity spread across the economy, lasting more than a few months, normally visible in real GDP, real income, employment, industrial production, and wholesale-retail sales.

A recession begins just after the economy reaches a peak of activity and ends as the economy reaches its trough. Between trough and peak, the economy is in an expansion. Expansion is the normal state of the economy; most recessions are brief and they have been rare in recent decades.”

The recession numbers may be having an impact on President Bush’s approval rating.

The new poll finds Mr. Bush’s approval rating remains steady at 36 percent, but his approval rating among black Americans is just 15 percent.

CNN Polling Director Keating Holland says “a majority of whites also disapprove of Bush, although four in ten have a favorable view of his administration. The president’s approval rating has been stuck at 36 percent since late summer.”

The poll surveyed 1,212 adult Americans, including 762 white Americans and 307 black Americans. It was conducted by telephone from October 12 to 14. The sampling error is plus or minus three percentage points for the overall number and five and a half percentage points for the black and white breakdowns.