Unemployment Surpasses 'The Economy' As Country's Biggest Concern: Gallup

It's the unemployment, stupid, according to a Gallup poll released Thursday.

Almost 40 percent of Americans said in September that unemployment or joblessness is the biggest issue facing the country, up from 29 percent in August, a Gallup Poll released Thursday shows. Americans now cite unemployment more than "the economy" as the nation's most important problem, the report said.

Not since last November has unemployment surpassed the economy as the top concern of Americans.

U.S. employers added no new jobs in August as the unemployment rate held at 9.1 percent, the Labor Department reported earlier this month. And things aren't poised to pick up any time soon, Douglas Elmendorf, director of the Congressional Budget Office told a congressional committee earlier this week. Elmendorf said his non-partisan agency predicts the unemployment rate will hover at 9 percent through the end of next year.

Though the unemployment rate has been high for months, politicians may finally be coming to the realization that it's a top concern for voters, especially President Barack Obama, who submitted his American Jobs Act to Congress earlier this week. The bills aims to use a combination of spending and tax cuts to spur job growth.

President Obama's re-election hopes might hinge on how quickly he can get the nation back to work. Ronald Reagan is the only president since World War II to win re-election with an unemployment rate above 6 percent, according to Bloomberg. The jobless rate stood at 7.2 percent on Election Day in 1984.

For their part, some prominent economists in the Obama camp seem to agree with the American public that creating jobs is the key to turning the economy around. Larry Summers, the former director of the White House National Economic Council, wrote in an op-ed in the Financial Times in June that boosting spending, borrowing and lending would help to turn the economy around by increasing demand and creating jobs.

While some other economists are doubting the effectiveness of Obama's plan, many small business owners say that if passed, the proposal would encourage them to hire.

Still, the Gallup poll found that the plan may not be enough to convince Americans that Obama can handle the issue most important to them. More respondents said Republicans are better suited to handle the nation's biggest problem than said Democrats could deal with the issue effectively.

 

 

Comments

[stargazer13]

01:03 AM on 09/20/2011

wow it only take 30 years

give or take a few

we need to find where the communication break down is !!
because this is sad !!
unemployment has been a hot topic since the late 70,s

[68Namvet]

07:43 PM on 09/18/2011

Okay - three things. First, call me silly, but exactly what is the difference between "the economy" and "high unemployment"? I mean - drawing a distinction between them is like saying the American public is more concerned about the loss of 32 service members killed in a helicopter attack in Afghanistan than they are about the war in Afghanistan. The two are as interrelated as "jobs" and "the economy".

Second, that Reagan won reelection with 7.2% unemployment is not hard to imagine; given that he started at 7.5% and, after two years in office was at 10.8% and, working with the newly elected democratic Congress to pass the S & L bail outs, spending increases, and higher taxes, unemployment was reined in to 7.2%.

Third, the only thing dumber than believing that republicans are better suited to handle the nation's biggest problem (unemployment) is believing that they want to handle the problem. After all, it was a problem that they and their policies created. Keeping unemployment high is their ticket to the White House.

But, then whoever gave the impression that the voting public was intelligent or capable of seeing past the lies of the republicans..

[MikeElPaso]

12:49 AM on 09/19/2011

"But, then whoever gave the impression that the voting public was intelligen­t or capable of seeing past the lies of the republican­s."

Am already hearing of voters who after seeing the Republicans blocking any effort by the White House to get the economy going now believe that voting them is is the solution. Pure insanity.

[Claireify]

11:46 AM on 09/19/2011

68namvet- Fanned on all three points and the conclusion.

[ron10]

11:37 AM on 09/18/2011

i do not think republicans or the democrats are going to fix this as they both are the reason we are here.both are taking big money from special interests to buy there votes.we americans need to rise up and vote these people out.the whole process is full of corruption.we need term limits.we need campaign reform.lets get these rich bums out of office.

[fairandbalanced100]

10:28 PM on 09/17/2011

The economy & high unemployment are related . If the government can fix one the other one will
get fixed too. The stimulus saved or created 3 million jobs , but not enough. We need to pass
another stimulus , like Obama wants. Most Republicans don't think it's the government's job
to create jobs , so if you want the governement to create jobs , tell the politicians to pass the
new stimulus plan & vote for Obama & Democrats next year . The businesses are not hiring
very many workers to make up for the workers they laid off.

[ron10]

11:41 AM on 09/18/2011

yes the other stimulus worked so great.they hired more teachers,fire fighters and officer,s here in town then had to raise taxes after the stimulus ran out.lets do that again great more foreclosures in town

[rebelriser]

06:01 PM on 09/17/2011

Who are the respondants, anyway, who told Gallop that Republicans could better supply jobs? Gallop must have given priority to known Republican area for this pole. Someone had better remind Republican respondants of McConnell & Boehner and their Republicans cohorts in the Senate and House blocking every jobs bill this Administration has brought to the floor so far. We all must write to or call the Republicans and demand that they work with Democrats on the jobs plan and they must STOP blocking all that this Administration does. Most unemployed can not wait over a year and then to learn that Republicans only want slave labor jobs and no unions. Come on now, contact those Republican House & senate members.

[Satoshi Hata]

07:45 PM on 09/16/2011

California unemployment rate hits 12.1% as employers slash jobs
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-california-jobs-20110917,0,5033644.story

[Satoshi Hata]

07:26 PM on 09/16/2011

Econbrowser
Analysis of current economic conditions and policy

September 15, 2011
What could America be good at?
http://www.econbrowser.com/archives/2011/09/what_could_amer.html

[jgrienin]

06:34 PM on 09/16/2011

Republicans are traditionally job killers. You can easily check out their record by looking at the unemployment rates versus presidents in office. If the Republicans get control of congress and the presidency in 2012, the unemployment rate will hit 20% or more just like in the 1930s under Hoover. The Tea Party will lead this parade.

[Gunther Steinberg]

04:53 PM on 09/16/2011

To bring the problem of unemployment home to Congress, the fine idea circulating widely on "How to fix Congress" is a fine idea, But for reality, cut their health care benefits, shift retirement to 401K, and cut the salary by 20% for one year, or until unemployment reaches 5%. That will get their attention !!
Little else will affect their outlook.

[Claireify]

11:49 AM on 09/19/2011

You are spot on. The problem is THEY are the ones who pass legislation to give themselves raises and perks. Who came up with that stupid idea. The fox is guarding the hen house.

[Standup Gal]

04:02 PM on 09/16/2011

How I wish such articles on "this" cited malemployment, as well! For tens of millions of highly-qualified American workers, holding one or two full- or part-time jobs that pay too little to live on isn't really "employment" -- it's not getting by. We must take into account our nation's opportunity cost for wasting this collective talent. Why squander such collective expertise and education on years -- even working lifetimes -- of dead-end "grunt jobs"? To be representative of our current reality, any feature on unemployment must, at the very least, mention malemployment. It affects at least as many people as unemployment per se.

[authorized-user]

03:39 PM on 09/16/2011

"Almost 40 percent of Americans said in September that unemployment or joblessness is the biggest issue facing the country" so Where are the jobs?

[justwhendoesitend]

03:44 PM on 09/17/2011

Yes, totally agree. The Repubs want one thing: power to run the country as they see fit and for the rich. They are willing to do anything to achieve this. They have no compassion for the citizens of this country, they offer no solutions except cut spending. I think Congress should not be paid if unemployment goes above 7%.

[fortressfountain]

03:27 PM on 09/16/2011

Walkable communities-No thanks I will keep my car and live in the country-at least away from the rioting and crime.
How willing do you think people will be to give up anything when so much has already been take from them?
Don't count on people to line up like ducks so more giveaways can go to the elite.

[Over Fifty and OutofWork]

03:10 PM on 09/16/2011

The unemployment problem should be number one in the government's agenda. Right now more than 25 million Americans are out of work and among them are millions of baby boomers. Check out our documentary and multimedia project on people Over 50 and Out of Work. www.Over50andOutofWork.com.

[Standup Gal]

04:24 PM on 09/16/2011

In fact, the 50+ population is disproportionately unemployed, on a per-capita basis. The only way it could be tougher is if we were all Hispanics or African-Americans. Ostensibly for reasons of their recent prime-employment sectors (per industry and geographical region), they've been hurt even more by the recession than have Caucasians/other minorities 50+. We all need to examine our consciences, think hard, and become outspoken advocates for the greater good.

[Rudym]

02:44 PM on 09/16/2011

Unemployment is certainly the main focus of concern for most Americans. However, it is not the main concern for Congress. If it was, they would focus on one of the biggest root causes of US unemployment which is unbalanced trade.

Nothing is being said about the end effects by either party about trade agreements both exisiting and proposed to prevent unbalanced trade. You have to be suspect of the three free trade agreements Obama wants to now add because he wants the government to agree to pay for the costs to retrain all the US workers that will be displaced because of the agreement. Let the companies train employees. They used to when manufacturing was 50 percent of the GNP instead of today at 10 percent.

The simple solution is to add tariffs on all products and services that are imported from trade partners with trade ungavorable trade balances. For example, if China would buy US goods and services instead of US Treasuries in the present amout they now posess of two trillion dollars, there would be virtuallly zero percent unemployment in the US.

All the GOp hype about eliminating spending and regulations won't create any jobs. And Obamas plan won't do much better because winter is coming and construction in the majority of the country with the highest unemployment won't happen.

[HoverTroll]

05:28 PM on 09/16/2011

Wait tax companies that ship jobs overseas?? That makes no sense. The last I had heard we gave them tax incentives to do that. We all know we can't tax those job creators, and that removing loop holes and deductions is basically a tax increase. Who cares where they are creating jobs THEY ARE JOB CREATORS!!! Sheesh.

[Rudym]

08:59 AM on 09/17/2011

Hoover Troll, you certainly have a sense of humor.

Unfortunately, Congress is Constitutionally responsible to regulate trade and the US is a joke today all over the world..

Many unemployed US workers are crying about thier jobs being sent overseas.

The ones who are mainly laughing at Congress are the leaders of foeign countries that outsmarted or paid off our dumb or traitorous Congress and now have huge trade imbalances with the US.

The final joke is on unemployed US workers that voted for Congress to represent them and Congress represents foreign workers mudh better with both their tax laws and dumb trade agreements that have no contingencies for unbalanced trade.