February
23,
2015
Obama Overall Job Approval Holds Steady as Concern for National Economy Grows
A
total of 46% of Americans say they
approve of the way Barack Obama is handling his job as president
and
49% say they disapprove
of
the way Obama is handling his
job according
to the
latest survey
from the American Research
Group. In January, 47% approved and 48% disapproved. When
it comes
to Obama's handling of the economy, 45% of Americans approve
and 50% disapprove. In January, 48% approved and 49% disapproved.
Among
Americans registered to vote, 47% approve
of the way Obama is handling his job as president and 49% disapprove.
On Obama's handling of the economy, 45% of registered voters
approve and 50% disapprove.
A total of 39% of Americans say the national
economy is getting worse, up from 30% in January. Of the 49% of Americans saying they disapprove
of the way Obama is handling his job, 68% say the national economy is getting worse.
The
results
presented here
are based on
1,100 completed interviews conducted among a nationwide
random sample of adults 18
years and older (see methodology for details). The interviews
were completed February 17
through 20, 2015. The theoretical
margin of error for the total sample is plus or minus 2.6 percentage
points, 95% of the time,
on questions where opinion is evenly split.
Overall, 46% of Americans say that they
approve of the way Barack Obama is handling his job as president,
49% disapprove, and 5% are undecided.
|
Obama job approval
|
Approve
|
Disapprove
|
Undecided
|
|
| Feb
2015 |
46% |
49% |
5% |
| Jan 2015 |
47% |
48% |
5% |
| Dec
2014 |
47% |
49% |
4% |
| Nov 2014 |
44% |
51% |
5% |
| Oct
2014 |
43% |
52% |
5% |
| Sep 2014 |
42% |
50% |
8% |
| Aug
2014 |
43% |
52% |
5% |
| Jul 2014 |
42% |
56% |
2% |
| Jun
2014 |
40% |
56% |
4% |
| May 2014 |
45% |
50% |
5% |
| Apr
2014 |
43% |
53% |
4% |
| Mar 2014 |
47% |
51% |
2% |
| Feb
2014 |
46% |
50% |
4% |
Among Republicans (29% of adults registered to vote in the survey and 25%
of
all adults in the survey), 9%
approve of the way Obama is handling his job and 89% disapprove.
Among Democrats (35% of adults registered to vote in the survey
and 30% of all adults in the survey), 82% approve
and 12% disapprove of the way Obama is handling
his job. Among independents (36% of adults registered to vote
in the survey and 31% of all adults in the survey), 43%
approve and 53% disapprove of the way Obama is handling his
job as president.
Overall, 45% of Americans
say that they
approve
of the way Barack Obama is handling the economy, 50% disapprove,
and 5% are undecided.
Among registered voters, 45% approve and 50% disapprove
of
the way Obama is handling the economy.
|
Obama handling the economy
|
Approve
|
Disapprove
|
Undecided
|
|
| Feb 2015 |
45% |
50% |
5% |
| Jan 2015 |
48% |
49% |
3% |
| Dec 2014 |
45% |
52% |
3% |
| Nov 2014 |
42% |
54% |
4% |
| Oct 2014 |
41% |
55% |
4% |
| Sep 2014 |
39% |
56% |
5% |
| Aug 2014 |
37% |
59% |
4% |
| Jul 2014 |
40% |
58% |
2% |
| Jun 2014 |
38% |
59% |
3% |
| May 2014 |
40% |
55% |
5% |
| Apr 2014 |
39% |
57% |
4% |
| Mar 2014 |
43% |
54% |
3% |
| Feb 2014 |
41% |
53% |
6% |
Among Republicans, 7% approve of the way Obama is handling the economy and
89% disapprove. Among
Democrats, 82% approve of the way Obama is handling the economy
and 13% disapprove.
Among independents, 40% approve and 55%
disapprove of the way Obama is handling the economy.
A total of 42% of Americans say that the national
economy is
getting
better, 18% say it is staying the same, and 39% say
the national economy is getting worse.
|
National economy |
Getting better |
Staying the same |
Getting worse |
Undecided |
|
| Feb 2015 |
42% |
18% |
39% |
1% |
| Jan 2015 |
47% |
20% |
30% |
3% |
| Dec 2014 |
39% |
21% |
39% |
1% |
| Nov 2014 |
35% |
24% |
39% |
2% |
| Oct 2014 |
35% |
25% |
37% |
3% |
| Sep 2014 |
33% |
27% |
39% |
1% |
| Aug 2014 |
31% |
22% |
46% |
1% |
| Jul 2014 |
30% |
28% |
40% |
2% |
| Jun 2014 |
34% |
24% |
41% |
1% |
| May 2014 |
33% |
22% |
40% |
5% |
| Apr 2014 |
34% |
29% |
37% |
- |
| Mar 2014 |
39% |
15% |
45% |
1% |
| Feb 2014 |
34% |
29% |
35% |
2% |
Among those saying they approve of the way Obama
is handling his job, 81% say getting better, 14% say staying
the same, and 5% say getting worse. Of those saying
they
disapprove of the way Obama
is handling his job, 4% say getting better, 25% say staying
the same, and 68% say getting worse.
A total
of 38% of Americans say they believe
the national economy will be better a year from now, 26% say
it will be the same, and 34% say
it will be worse.
|
National economy a year from now |
Better than today |
The same as today |
Worse than today |
Undecided |
|
| Feb 2015 |
38% |
26% |
34% |
2% |
| Jan 2015 |
41% |
25% |
24% |
10% |
| Dec 2014 |
40% |
27% |
29% |
4% |
| Nov 2014 |
37% |
28% |
31% |
4% |
| Oct 2014 |
34% |
40% |
23% |
3% |
| Sep 2014 |
33% |
26% |
36% |
5% |
| Aug 2014 |
36% |
21% |
42% |
1% |
| Jul 2014 |
34% |
26% |
36% |
4% |
| Jun 2014 |
34% |
26% |
37% |
3% |
| May 2014 |
36% |
21% |
38% |
5% |
| Apr 2014 |
38% |
27% |
30% |
5% |
| Mar 2014 |
40% |
23% |
35% |
2% |
| Feb 2014 |
34% |
25% |
38% |
3% |
Among those saying they approve of the way Obama is handling his job, 72% say better,
22% say the same as today, and 5% say worse than today.
Among those saying they disapprove of the way Obama is handling
his job as president, 4% say better, 32% say the same, and
59%
say worse.
Overall, 35% of Americans say they believe
that the national economy
is in a recession, 42% say they
do
not believe the economy is in
a recession, and 23% are undecided.
| National economy in a recession
|
Yes
|
No
|
Undecided
|
|
| Feb 2015 |
35% |
42% |
23% |
| Jan 2015 |
30% |
50% |
20% |
| Dec 2014 |
26% |
44% |
30% |
| Nov 2014 |
23% |
45% |
32% |
| Oct 2014 |
28% |
43% |
29% |
| Sep 2014 |
33% |
43% |
24% |
| Aug 2014 |
38% |
40% |
22% |
| Jul 2014 |
41% |
41% |
18% |
| Jun 2014 |
36% |
47% |
17% |
| May 2014 |
33% |
38% |
29% |
| Apr 2014 |
32% |
45% |
23% |
| Mar 2014 |
36% |
45% |
19% |
| Feb 2014 |
39% |
39% |
22% |
Among those saying they approve of the way Obama
is handling his job, 19% say the national economy is in a
recession, 67% say the national economy is not in
a recession, and 14% are undecided.
Of those saying they disapprove of the way Obama is handling
his job, 53% say the national economy
is in a recession, 18% say the national economy is not
in
a recession, and 29% are undecided.
A
total of 57% of Americans rate
the national economy as excellent, very good, or good and 42%
rate it as
bad, very bad, or terrible.
|
National economy
|
Excellent
|
Very good
|
Good
|
Bad
|
Very bad
|
Terrible
|
Undecided
|
|
| Feb 2015 |
11% |
17% |
29% |
18% |
11% |
13% |
1% |
| Jan 2015 |
7% |
24% |
29% |
21% |
8% |
10% |
1% |
| Dec 2014 |
9% |
10% |
37% |
19% |
12% |
12% |
1% |
| Nov 2014 |
7% |
13% |
26% |
26% |
11% |
16% |
1% |
| Oct 2014 |
3% |
12% |
38% |
32% |
11% |
3% |
1% |
| Sep 2014 |
3% |
13% |
37% |
25% |
11% |
10% |
1% |
| Aug 2014 |
9% |
13% |
23% |
25% |
14% |
15% |
1% |
| Jul 2014 |
5% |
16% |
19% |
29% |
14% |
16% |
1% |
| Jun 2014 |
6% |
11% |
28% |
23% |
17% |
14% |
1% |
| May 2014 |
7% |
11% |
29% |
27% |
20% |
5% |
1% |
| Apr 2014 |
3% |
18% |
27% |
29% |
12% |
10% |
1% |
| Mar 2014 |
5% |
18% |
27% |
24% |
12% |
13% |
1% |
| Feb 2014 |
3% |
8% |
33% |
29% |
12% |
14% |
1% |
Among those saying they approve of the way Obama
is handling his job, 94% say very good, or good
and 5% say bad, very bad, or terrible.
Among
those saying they
disapprove of the way Obama
is handling his job, 23% say very good, or good
and 75% say bad, very bad, or terrible. When
it comes to rating their household
financial situations, 68% of Americans give an excellent, very
good, or good rating and 31%
give a bad, very bad, or terrible rating.
|
Household financial situation
|
Excellent
|
Very good
|
Good
|
Bad
|
Very bad
|
Terrible
|
Undecided
|
|
| Feb 2015 |
13% |
19% |
36% |
22% |
6% |
3% |
1% |
| Jan 2015 |
10% |
20% |
39% |
23% |
1% |
6% |
1% |
| Dec 2014 |
7% |
15% |
49% |
20% |
1% |
7% |
1% |
| Nov 2014 |
14% |
12% |
45% |
21% |
3% |
4% |
1% |
| Oct 2014 |
9% |
15% |
55% |
17% |
2% |
1% |
1% |
| Sep 2014 |
9% |
15% |
42% |
23% |
3% |
7% |
1% |
| Aug 2014 |
14% |
15% |
31% |
23% |
12% |
4% |
1% |
| Jul 2014 |
10% |
14% |
42% |
17% |
9% |
7% |
1% |
| Jun 2014 |
6% |
22% |
43% |
13% |
9% |
6% |
1% |
| May 2014 |
11% |
15% |
47% |
12% |
7% |
7% |
1% |
| Apr 2014 |
9% |
15% |
59% |
19% |
5% |
1% |
1% |
| Mar 2014 |
11% |
20% |
37% |
26% |
4% |
1% |
1% |
| Feb 2014 |
9% |
16% |
45% |
19% |
7% |
3% |
1% |
Among those saying they approve of the way Obama
is handling his job, 83% say excellent, very good, or good
and 16% say bad, very bad, or terrible.
Among those saying they disapprove
of the way Obama is handling his job, 50% say very
good,
or good and 49% say
bad, very bad, or terrible. A total of 24% of Americans
say
they think the financial situations
in their households are getting better, 44% say staying the
same, and 31% say getting worse.
|
Household financial situation
|
Getting better
|
Staying the same
|
Getting worse
|
Undecided
|
|
| Feb 2015 |
24% |
44% |
31% |
1% |
| Jan 2015 |
22% |
46% |
30% |
2% |
| Dec 2014 |
24% |
47% |
26% |
3% |
| Nov 2014 |
20% |
49% |
29% |
2% |
| Oct 2014 |
21% |
54% |
24% |
1% |
| Sep 2014 |
12% |
54% |
33% |
1% |
| Aug 2014 |
18% |
46% |
34% |
2% |
| Jul 2014 |
17% |
54% |
26% |
3% |
| Jun 2014 |
20% |
49% |
27% |
4% |
| May 2014 |
19% |
52% |
28% |
1% |
| Apr 2014 |
19% |
48% |
28% |
5% |
| Mar 2014 |
15% |
51% |
34% |
- |
| Feb 2014 |
21% |
44% |
34% |
1% |
Among those saying they approve of the way Obama
is handling his job, 42% say getting better, 47% say staying
the same, and 10% say getting worse. Among those saying
they disapprove of the way Obama is handling his job, 4%
say
getting better, 41% say
staying the same, and 52% say getting worse. Looking
to a year from now, 23%
of Americans say that they think their household financial
situations will be better than today, 41% say the same as today,
and 30% say worse than today.
|
Household financial situation a year from now
|
Better than today
|
The same as today
|
Worse than
today
|
Undecided
|
|
| Feb 2015 |
23% |
41% |
30% |
6% |
| Jan 2015 |
32% |
40% |
24% |
4% |
| Dec 2014 |
31% |
37% |
23% |
9% |
| Nov 2014 |
27% |
50% |
22% |
1% |
| Oct 2014 |
30% |
45% |
19% |
6% |
| Sep 2014 |
22% |
47% |
27% |
4% |
| Aug 2014 |
27% |
37% |
34% |
2% |
| Jul 2014 |
30% |
41% |
29% |
* |
| Jun 2014 |
25% |
46% |
25% |
4% |
| May 2014 |
25% |
49% |
23% |
3% |
| Apr 2014 |
26% |
48% |
22% |
4% |
| Mar 2014 |
29% |
47% |
24% |
* |
| Feb 2014 |
25% |
41% |
28% |
6% |
Among those saying they approve of the way Obama
is handling his job, 36% say better than today, 47% say
the same as today, and 11% say worse than today. Among those
saying they disapprove of the
way Obama is handling his job, 8% say better than today, 34%
say
the same as today, and 51% say worse than today.
About this Survey -
Survey Sponsor: American Research Group, Inc. The American Research Group has been conducting national surveys of consumers since
1985. Sample
Size: 1,100 completed interviews among a random sample
of all adults age 18 and older
living in households in the continental United States (see
methodology for details). Sample
Dates: February 17-20, 2015 Margin of Error: ± 3 percentage points, 95% of the time, on questions where opinion
is evenly split. Question
Wording and Order: Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack
Obama is handling his job as president? Do you approve or disapprove of the way Barack
Obama is handling the economy? How do you rate the condition of the national
economy these days - would you say it is excellent, very good,
good, bad, very bad, or terrible? Do you think the national economy is getting better, staying the same, or getting worse? Would you say that the national economy is in a recession, or not? A year from now, do you expect the national economy to be better than it is today, the
same as it is today, or worse than it is today? How do you rate the condition of the financial
situation in your household - would you say it is excellent,
very good, good, bad, very bad,
or terrible? Do you think the financial situation in your household is getting better, staying the
same, or getting worse? A year from now, do you expect the financial situation in your household to be better
than it is today, the same as it is today, or worse than it is today? | 