Views on economy deteriorate since poll January 21, 2014 - 5:41PM Voters' perceptions of the Australian economy have deteriorated since the Abbott government came to power in September, a new survey has found. The weekly Essential Research online poll found only 34 per cent believe the economy is in good shape, down from 40 per cent when surveyed shortly after election day. Twenty-six per cent describe the economy as in poor shape, up from 25 per cent, while 36 per cent think the state of the economy is neither good nor poor. One-third of the 1087 respondents believe the economy is heading in the wrong direction, up from 26 per cent, while 38 per cent see the direction as right, down from 44 per cent. Respondents also feel the economy is worse off in a number of areas, including the cost of living, unemployment, interest rates, health and education. Only company profits under the coalition government scored positively.