23% Believe That Unemployment is Nation's Most Important Problem

According to a recent Gallup.com poll (link below), unemployment/jobs is once again the most important problem that the nation needs to deal with.

Americans were asked by Gallup to name the most important problem that is currently facing the country, and here is how the results played out:

February 2014

Unemployment/Jobs - 23%
Economy in General - 20%
Government/Politicians - 18%
Healthcare - 15%
Federal Budget Deficit/Federal Debt - 8%

Let's compare these results to October of 2013:

Government/Politicians - 33%
Economy in General - 19%
Unemployment/Jobs - 12%
Healthcare - 12%
Federal Budget Deficit/Federal Debt - 12%

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In October of 2013, the federal government shut down for 16 days due to a budget dispute between the Republicans and Democrats. This caused a spike in anger towards Congress, which translated into 33% of Americans listing government/politicians as the nation's most pressing issue.

The anger has died down in recent months and is unlikely to spike over the near-term. This is largely due to the fact that a "clean" debt ceiling bill was recently passed by the House and Senate, which means that the nation will be able to avoid another clash over the debt ceiling, at least for this year.

The nation's deficit has been shrinking in recent years (this is a temporary trend, as deficits are expected to increase dramatically in the years ahead), and this has translated into less worry for Americans on that front.

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With worries over the government and the nation's deficit subsiding somewhat, Americans have a new #1 problem - unemployment and jobs.

Many Americans are still without work, and many more are "underemployed" (working part-time jobs when they want full-time work, etc.) The national unemployment rate has been trending lower over the past couple of years, but numbers can be deceiving - the labor force participation rate is still extremely low, and millions of Americans still count themselves as part of the long-term unemployed.

Source: Gallup.com - Unemployment Rises to Top Problem in the U.S.


Filed under: General Knowledge