Job insecurity: Mildly encouraging economic news is being touted and flouted by the Bushies like there’s no tomorrow — in spite of the $8 trillion deficit. But the economic “good” news doesn’t seem to be making folks confident enough to tell their boss to take this job and shove it. It’s more like, “Lord. please don’t lay me off.” From the National Journal’s PollTrack:
Half of Gallup poll respondents said the economy’s getting worse, but that’s down from 58% in the mid-November survey; 39% said it’s getting better, up 3 points.
Despite that apparent increase in optimism, however, six in 10 still said it’s a bad time to find a “quality job” — a 4-point increase since the previous poll; 36% said it’s a good time, down from last month’s 42%.
A similar question in this month’s Ipsos Public Affairs survey revealed more personal worries about the job market: 47% of respondents said it was at least somewhat likely that they or someone they know will lose a job in the next six months. That’s a 5-point jump since Ipsos’ last economic survey in early November, when 42% gave the same response.
But another Ipsos number seemed to counter that prediction. Although a 45% plurality said they are less confident about job security now than they were half a year ago, 39% said they are more confident — up 3 points since the previous poll. About the same number of respondents said they were as comfortable making both major and regular household purchases this month as they were last month.
And President Bush’s handling of the economy got a big boost in recent weeks, according to Associated Press/Ipsos Public Affairs pollsters — 42% said they approved of his work on the nation’s finances, compared to 37% in early November, while 55% expressed disapproval, a 6-point decrease from the previous poll.
