People in the U.S. remain generally pessimistic about the state of the economy, according to new data from Gallup.

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The polling company said Tuesday that its economic confidence index remained at -16 in August, and has hovered within a three-point span for all of 2014.

Gallup's latest numbers underscore that the economy might not give Democrats the assistance that party leaders had hoped for this midterm year.

Democrats are much more likely to be bullish on the economy than Republicans or independents, Gallup found. Higher earners are also more confident than lower earners, a finding consistent with other consumer surveys.

The company's confidence index combines people's views on current economic conditions, and what they think the future holds.

According to Gallup, respondents have been particularly consistent on the current state of the economy, coming up with a score of -14 for the last five months.

People are slightly less pessimistic about the future, with a -18 score on whether the economy is getting better or worse.

The public's fairly steady take on the economy this year stands in stark contrast to 2013, when the government shutdown and other factors led people in the U.S. to have a more topsy-turvy view of conditions.