RISMEDIA, July 6, 2010—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 10 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.
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 6-12 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 toward the economy–regardless of what economists may be saying.
For more information, visit www.harrisinteractive.com.
