NEW YORK, July 1 /PRNewswire/ -- The phrase that people keep hearing is the economic crisis will end with a "jobless recovery" as new job creation continues to lag. Even Vice President Joe Biden recently conceded that not all the jobs lost in the past few years will be coming back. Americans are aware of this and are concerned with the issue of jobs. Just one in ten U.S. adults say the job market in their region is good, while two-thirds (66%) say it is bad and one-quarter (25%) say it is neither good nor bad.
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These are some of the results of The Harris Poll of 2,227 adults surveyed online between June 14 and 21, 2010 by Harris Interactive.
Looking more specifically at the different regions of the country, just 5% of Westerners say the job market in their region is good while 71% say it is bad. Just under one in ten Easterners (8%) and Midwesterners (9%) say the job market is good in their region though 68% in both regions say it is bad. In the South the outlook is a little better as 14% say the job market is good while three in five (60%) say it is bad.
Expectations for the Job Market
A majority of Americans do not expect the job market to change much in the coming months. Just over half (53%) say the job market in their region will remain the same over the next six months. One-quarter of U.S. adults (26%) believe it will get better over the next six months while one in five (21%) believe it will get worse.
Easterners are more optimistic than those in the other regions, as 30% say the job market will get better in the next six months and 15% believe it will get worse. Westerners are more likely to expect the status quo, as almost three in five (57%) believe the job market will remain the same over the next six months.
When asked when they believe the job market will start to improve, the dour outlook for the future comes through loud and clear. Two in five Americans (40%) say the job market will not start improving for another year or longer and one in five (20%) are not at all sure when it will start to improve. One in five U.S. adults (21%) are a little more optimistic and believe the job market will start to improve between 6 and 12 months from now. Just 8% say the job market has already started improving and 11% believe it will start getting better within the next six months.
So What?
Attitudes on the economy are important, but feelings on jobs may be even more important. Americans need to know that they will not lose their job because their company is in trouble. Until they feel this sense of security, there is no way that they will turn around on their attitudes towards the economy – regardless of what economists may be saying.
TABLE 1 RATING OF CURRENT JOB MARKET - TREND "How would you rate the current job market of your region of the nation?" Base: All adults |
|||||||||||
2008 |
2009 |
||||||||||
June |
July |
Jan |
April |
June |
Aug |
Sept |
Oct |
Nov |
Dec |
||
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
||
GOOD (NET) |
28 |
30 |
6 |
12 |
9 |
8 |
10 |
10 |
8 |
9 |
|
Neither good nor bad |
18 |
19 |
18 |
20 |
19 |
21 |
22 |
20 |
18 |
19 |
|
BAD (NET) |
53 |
51 |
76 |
68 |
72 |
71 |
68 |
70 |
73 |
72 |
|
2010 |
||||||
Jan |
Mar. |
April |
May |
June |
||
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
||
GOOD (NET) |
10 |
8 |
10 |
12 |
10 |
|
Neither good nor bad |
20 |
18 |
21 |
20 |
25 |
|
BAD (NET) |
70 |
73 |
70 |
68 |
66 |
|
Note: Percentages may not add to 100% due to rounding |
||||||
TABLE 2 RATING OF CURRENT JOB MARKET IN YOUR REGION – BY REGION "How would you rate the current job market of your region of the nation?" Base: All adults |
||||||
Total |
Region |
|||||
East |
Midwest |
South |
West |
|||
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
||
GOOD (NET) |
10 |
8 |
9 |
14 |
5 |
|
Very good |
1 |
* |
1 |
2 |
* |
|
Somewhat good |
9 |
8 |
9 |
12 |
5 |
|
Neither good nor bad |
25 |
24 |
23 |
26 |
24 |
|
BAD (NET) |
66 |
68 |
68 |
60 |
71 |
|
Somewhat bad |
38 |
44 |
38 |
33 |
41 |
|
Very bad |
28 |
23 |
30 |
27 |
30 |
|
Note: Percentages may not add to 100% due to rounding; * indicates less than 0.5% |
||||||
TABLE 3 EXPECTATIONS FOR JOB MARKET IN SIX MONTHS – TREND "How do you think that the job market in your region of the nation will change over the next 6 months?" Base: All adults |
||||||
Jan. 2009 |
April 2009 |
June 2009 |
August 2009 |
June 2010 |
||
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
||
BETTER (NET) |
15 |
23 |
21 |
28 |
26 |
|
Will be much better |
1 |
3 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
|
Will be somewhat better |
14 |
20 |
19 |
26 |
25 |
|
Will remain the same |
36 |
42 |
47 |
47 |
53 |
|
WORSE (NET) |
49 |
36 |
32 |
25 |
21 |
|
Will be somewhat worse |
36 |
29 |
24 |
19 |
15 |
|
Will be much worse |
14 |
7 |
8 |
6 |
6 |
|
Note: Percentages may not add to 100% due to rounding; * indicates less than 0.5% |
||||||
TABLE 4 EXPECTATIONS FOR JOB MARKET IN YOUR REGION IN SIX MONTHS "How do you think that the job market in your region of the nation will change over the next 6 months?" Base: All adults |
||||||
Total |
Region |
|||||
East |
Midwest |
South |
West |
|||
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
||
BETTER (NET) |
26 |
30 |
23 |
27 |
23 |
|
Will be much better |
1 |
* |
* |
2 |
* |
|
Will be somewhat better |
25 |
30 |
23 |
25 |
23 |
|
Will remain the same |
53 |
54 |
55 |
48 |
57 |
|
WORSE (NET) |
21 |
15 |
21 |
25 |
20 |
|
Will be somewhat worse |
15 |
10 |
15 |
16 |
17 |
|
Will be much worse |
6 |
6 |
6 |
9 |
3 |
|
Note: Percentages may not add to 100% due to rounding; * indicates less than 0.5% |
||||||
TABLE 5 WHEN WILL JOB MARKET IMPROVE - TREND "When do you believe the job market will start to improve?" Base: All adults |
||||||
Dec 2009 |
Jan 2010 |
March 2010 |
April 2010 |
June 2010 |
||
% |
% |
% |
% |
% |
||
Already has started growing |
5 |
7 |
7 |
10 |
8 |
|
WITHIN NEXT SIX MONTHS (NET) |
16 |
14 |
13 |
12 |
11 |
|
Between now and 3 months from now |
4 |
5 |
4 |
4 |
3 |
|
Between 3 and 6 months from now |
12 |
9 |
9 |
8 |
9 |
|
Between 6 and 12 months from now |
24 |
24 |
21 |
21 |
21 |
|
Not for another year or longer |
37 |
39 |
41 |
38 |
40 |
|
Not at all sure |
18 |
16 |
19 |
20 |
20 |
|
Note: Percentages may not add to 100% due to rounding |
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Methodology
This Harris Poll was conducted online within the United States between June 14 and 21, 2010 among 2,227 adults (aged 18 and over). Figures for age, sex, race/ethnicity, education, region and household income were weighted where necessary to bring them into line with their actual proportions in the population. Propensity score weighting was also used to adjust for respondents' propensity to be online.
All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, Harris Interactive avoids the words "margin of error" as they are misleading. All that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100% response rates. These are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this ideal.
Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who have agreed to participate in Harris Interactive surveys. The data have been weighted to reflect the composition of the adult population. Because the sample is based on those who agreed to participate in the Harris Interactive panel, no estimates of theoretical sampling error can be calculated.
These statements conform to the principles of disclosure of the National Council on Public Polls.
The results of this Harris Poll may not be used in advertising, marketing or promotion without the prior written permission of Harris Interactive.
J38301
Q730, 735, 740
The Harris Poll® #85, July 1, 2010
By Regina Corso, Director, The Harris Poll, Harris Interactive
About Harris Interactive
Harris Interactive is one of the world's leading custom market research firms, leveraging research, technology, and business acumen to transform relevant insight into actionable foresight. Known widely for the Harris Poll and for pioneering innovative research methodologies, Harris offers expertise in a wide range of industries including healthcare, technology, public affairs, energy, telecommunications, financial services, insurance, media, retail, restaurant, and consumer package goods. Serving clients in over 215 countries and territories through our North American, European, and Asian offices and a network of independent market research firms, Harris specializes in delivering research solutions that help us – and our clients – stay ahead of what's next. For more information, please visit www.harrisinteractive.com.
Press Contact: |
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Corporate Communications |
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Harris Interactive |
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212-539-9600 |
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SOURCE Harris Interactive
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