|
August 23, 2010
Obama Job Approval Ratings Unchanged from July A
total of 43% of Americans say they
approve of the way Barack Obama is handling his job as president
and
51% say they disapprove
of
the way Obama is handling his
job according
to the
latest survey
from the American Research
Group. When it comes
to Obama's handling of the economy, 41% of Americans approve
and 54% disapprove. In July, 42% of Americans approved of the
job Obama was doing and 51% disapproved. When rating Obama's
handling of the economy in July,
39% approved and 56% disapproved.
Among
Americans registered to vote, 44% approve
of the way Obama is handling his job as president and 51% disapprove.
On Obama's handling of the economy,
42% of registered voters approve and 53% disapprove. In the
lastest survey, 87% of Democrats approve of the way Obama is handling his job. In July, 80%
of Democrats approved.
While 49% of Americans say the national economy
is getting
worse, just 23% say their personal financial situations are
getting worse. In July, 44% of Americans said the national economy was getting worse and 40%
said their personal financial situations were getting worse. The
results
presented here
are based on
1,100 completed telephone interviews conducted among a nationwide
random sample of adults 18
years and older. The interviews were completed August 17
through 20, 2010. 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, 43% of Americans say that they
approve of the way Barack Obama is handling his job as president,
51% disapprove, and 6% are undecided.
|
Obama job approval
|
Approve
|
Disapprove
|
Undecided
|
|
| Aug
2010 |
43% |
51% |
6% |
| Jul 2010 |
42% |
51% |
7% |
| Jun
2010 |
41% |
51% |
8% |
| May 2010 |
49% |
48% |
3% |
| Apr
2010 |
47% |
49% |
4% |
| Mar 2010 |
47% |
50% |
3% |
| Feb
2010 |
48% |
46% |
6% |
| Jan 2010 |
51% |
45% |
4% |
| Dec 2009 |
47% |
48% |
5% |
| Nov 2009 |
51% |
44% |
5% |
| Oct
2009 |
57% |
41% |
2% |
| Sep 2009 |
50% |
45% |
5% |
| Aug
2009 |
52% |
42% |
6% |
Among Republicans (29% of adults registered to vote in the survey and 26% of
all adults in the survey), 5%
approve of the way Obama is handling his job and 89% disapprove.
Among Democrats (33% of adults registered to vote in the survey
and 30% of all adults in the survey), 87% approve
and 6% disapprove of the way Obama is handling
his job. Among independents (38% of adults registered to vote
in the survey and 35% of all adults in the survey), 36%
approve and 60% disapprove of the way Obama is handling his
job as president.
Overall, 41% of Americans
say that they
approve
of the way Barack Obama is handling the economy, 54% disapprove,
and 5% are undecided.
Among registered voters, 42% approve and 53% disapprove
of
the way Obama is handling the economy.
|
Obama handling the economy
|
Approve
|
Disapprove
|
Undecided
|
|
| Aug 2010 |
41% |
54% |
5% |
| Jul 2010 |
39% |
56% |
5% |
| Jun 2010 |
38% |
56% |
6% |
| May 2010 |
44% |
52% |
4% |
| Apr 2010 |
43% |
53% |
4% |
| Mar 2010 |
44% |
54% |
2% |
| Feb 2010 |
43% |
49% |
8% |
| Jan 2010 |
46% |
48% |
6% |
| Dec 2009 |
45% |
52% |
3% |
| Nov 2009 |
47% |
47% |
6% |
| Oct
2009 |
43% |
47% |
10% |
| Sep 2009 |
49% |
47% |
4% |
| Aug 2009 |
50% |
45% |
5% |
Among Republicans, 5% approve of the way Obama is handling the economy and
89% disapprove. Among
Democrats, 87% approve of the way Obama is handling the economy
and 10% disapprove.
Among independents, 32% approve and 64%
disapprove of the way Obama is handling the economy.
A total of 27% of Americans say that the national
economy is
getting
better, 23% say it is staying the same, and 49% say
the national economy is getting worse.
|
National economy |
Getting better |
Staying the same |
Getting worse |
Undecided |
|
| Aug 2010 |
27% |
23% |
49% |
1% |
| Jul 2010 |
29% |
23% |
44% |
4% |
| Jun 2010 |
26% |
28% |
40% |
6% |
| May 2010 |
31% |
25% |
40% |
4% |
| Apr 2010 |
39% |
19% |
41% |
1% |
| Mar 2010 |
32% |
25% |
41% |
2% |
| Feb 2010 |
30% |
33% |
35% |
2% |
| Jan 2010 |
32% |
32% |
34% |
2% |
| Dec 2009 |
32% |
30% |
35% |
3% |
| Nov 2009 |
29% |
26% |
43% |
2% |
| Oct 2009 |
31% |
28% |
37% |
4% |
| Sep 2009 |
36% |
33% |
25% |
6% |
| Aug 2009 |
41% |
21% |
35% |
3% |
Among those saying they approve of the way Obama
is handling his job, 57% say getting better, 30% say staying
the same, and 11% say getting worse. Of those saying
they
disapprove of the way Obama
is handling his job, 2% say getting better, 16% say staying
the same, and 82% say getting worse.
A total
of 39% of Americans say they believe
the national economy will be better a year from now, 18% say
it will be the same, and 37% say
it will be worse.
|
National economy a year from now |
Better than today |
The same as today |
Worse than today |
Undecided |
|
| Aug 2010 |
39% |
18% |
37% |
6% |
| Jul 2010 |
42% |
18% |
38% |
2% |
| Jun 2010 |
38% |
23% |
36% |
3% |
| May 2010 |
47% |
18% |
32% |
3% |
| Apr 2010 |
40% |
15% |
36% |
9% |
| Mar 2010 |
46% |
21% |
33% |
- |
| Feb 2010 |
47% |
24% |
25% |
4% |
| Jan 2010 |
47% |
22% |
24% |
7% |
| Dec 2009 |
50% |
19% |
29% |
3% |
| Nov 2009 |
45% |
25% |
28% |
2% |
| Oct 2009 |
48% |
19% |
28% |
4% |
| Sep 2009 |
48% |
21% |
24% |
7% |
| Aug 2009 |
53% |
15% |
26% |
6% |
Among those saying they approve of the way Obama is handling his job, 78% say better,
11% say the same as today, and 8% say worse than today.
Among those saying they disapprove of the way Obama is handling
his job as president, 8% say better, 24% say the same, and
61%
say worse.
Overall, 60% of Americans say they believe
that the national economy
is in a recession, 18% say they
do
not believe the economy is in
a recession, and 22% are undecided.
| National economy in a recession
|
Yes
|
No
|
Undecided
|
|
| Aug 2010 |
60% |
18% |
22% |
| Jul 2010 |
62% |
25% |
13% |
| Jun 2010 |
65% |
17% |
18% |
| May 2010 |
56% |
27% |
17% |
| Apr 2010 |
62% |
19% |
19% |
| Mar 2010 |
71% |
18% |
11% |
| Feb 2010 |
54% |
18% |
28% |
| Jan 2010 |
70% |
14% |
16% |
| Dec 2009 |
72% |
13% |
15% |
| Nov 2009 |
65% |
16% |
19% |
| Oct 2009 |
53% |
21% |
26% |
| Sep 2009 |
72% |
15% |
13% |
| Aug 2009 |
69% |
18% |
13% |
Among those saying they approve of the way Obama
is handling his job, 49% say the national economy is in a
recession, 24% say the national economy is not in
a recession, and 27% are undecided.
Of those saying they disapprove of the way Obama is handling
his job, 69% say the national economy
is in a recession, 16% say the national economy is not
in
a recession, and 15% are undecided.
A
total of 32% of Americans rate
the national economy as excellent, very good, or good and 67%
rate it as
bad, very bad, or terrible.
|
National economy |
Excellent |
Very good |
Good |
Bad |
Very bad |
Terrible |
Undecided |
|
| Aug 2010 |
1% |
8% |
23% |
36% |
17% |
14% |
1% |
| Jul 2010 |
- |
5% |
26% |
31% |
20% |
17% |
1% |
| Jun 2010 |
5% |
4% |
21% |
39% |
20% |
10% |
1% |
| May 2010 |
3% |
7% |
16% |
46% |
12% |
15% |
1% |
| Apr 2010 |
1% |
6% |
23% |
34% |
16% |
19% |
1% |
| Mar 2010 |
2% |
3% |
20% |
37% |
20% |
17% |
1% |
| Feb 2010 |
3% |
8% |
20% |
32% |
17% |
19% |
1% |
| Jan 2010 |
3% |
5% |
19% |
42% |
13% |
17% |
1% |
| Dec 2009 |
3% |
1% |
30% |
31% |
16% |
18% |
1% |
| Nov 2009 |
1% |
4% |
24% |
31% |
21% |
18% |
1% |
| Oct 2009 |
2% |
1% |
19% |
49% |
14% |
14% |
1% |
| Sep 2009 |
2% |
7% |
25% |
40% |
14% |
11% |
1% |
| Aug 2009 |
4% |
2% |
21% |
30% |
22% |
20% |
1% |
Among those saying they approve of the way Obama
is handling his job, 71% say very good, or good
and 28% say bad, very bad, or terrible.
Among
those saying they
disapprove of the way Obama
is handling his job, 2% say very good, or good
and 98% say bad, very bad, or terrible.
When
it comes to rating their household
financial situations, 76% of Americans give an excellent, very
good, or good rating and 23%
give a bad, very bad, or terrible rating.
|
Household financial situation |
Excellent |
Very good |
Good |
Bad |
Very bad |
Terrible |
Undecided |
|
| Aug 2010 |
6% |
21% |
49% |
18% |
3% |
2% |
1% |
| Jul 2010 |
3% |
19% |
38% |
24% |
5% |
10% |
1% |
| Jun 2010 |
8% |
12% |
43% |
27% |
4% |
5% |
1% |
| May 2010 |
8% |
19% |
39% |
24% |
4% |
5% |
1% |
| Apr 2010 |
7% |
14% |
44% |
22% |
9% |
3% |
1% |
| Mar 2010 |
7% |
11% |
48% |
20% |
8% |
5% |
1% |
| Feb 2010 |
4% |
16% |
45% |
23% |
5% |
6% |
1% |
| Jan 2010 |
7% |
16% |
40% |
24% |
7% |
5% |
1% |
| Dec 2009 |
9% |
14% |
43% |
19% |
9% |
5% |
1% |
| Nov 2009 |
6% |
13% |
45% |
18% |
9% |
8% |
1% |
| Oct 2009 |
3% |
14% |
43% |
27% |
5% |
7% |
1% |
| Sep 2009 |
5% |
15% |
49% |
16% |
8% |
6% |
1% |
| Aug 2009 |
7% |
12% |
50% |
14% |
1% |
15% |
1% |
Among those saying they approve of the way Obama
is handling his job, 89% say excellent, very good, or good
and 10% say bad, very bad, or terrible.
Among those saying they disapprove
of the way Obama is handling his job, 67% say very
good,
or good and 32% say
bad, very bad, or terrible.
A total of 10% of Americans say
they think the financial situations
in their households are getting better, 63% say staying the
same, and 23% say getting worse.
|
Household financial situation |
Getting better |
Staying the same |
Getting worse |
Undecided |
|
| Aug 2010 |
10% |
63% |
23% |
4% |
| Jul 2010 |
8% |
49% |
40% |
3% |
| Jun 2010 |
10% |
56% |
32% |
2% |
| May 2010 |
12% |
59% |
27% |
2% |
| Apr 2010 |
16% |
51% |
29% |
4% |
| Mar 2010 |
8% |
56% |
35% |
1% |
| Feb 2010 |
8% |
59% |
31% |
2% |
| Jan 2010 |
16% |
48% |
34% |
2% |
| Dec 2009 |
11% |
52% |
35% |
2% |
| Nov 2009 |
9% |
54% |
34% |
3% |
| Oct 2009 |
12% |
53% |
33% |
2% |
| Sep 2009 |
14% |
51% |
34% |
1% |
| Aug 2009 |
16% |
53% |
29% |
2% |
Among those saying they approve of the way Obama
is handling his job, 22% say getting better, 73% say staying
the same, and 3% say getting worse. Among those saying
they disapprove of the way Obama is handling his job, none say
getting better, 55% say
staying the same, and 43% say getting worse.
Looking
to a year from now, 30%
of Americans say that they think their household financial
situations will be better than today, 43% say the same as today,
and 23% say worse than today.
|
Household financial situation a year from now |
Better than today |
The same as today |
Worse than today |
Undecided |
|
| Aug 2010 |
30% |
43% |
23% |
4% |
| Jul 2010 |
27% |
36% |
31% |
6% |
| Jun 2010 |
25% |
45% |
28% |
2% |
| May 2010 |
26% |
43% |
28% |
3% |
| Apr 2010 |
23% |
36% |
34% |
7% |
| Mar 2010 |
28% |
38% |
28% |
6% |
| Feb 2010 |
24% |
43% |
27% |
6% |
| Jan 2010 |
32% |
38% |
24% |
6% |
| Dec 2009 |
26% |
43% |
26% |
5% |
| Nov 2009 |
31% |
44% |
21% |
4% |
| Oct 2009 |
27% |
39% |
30% |
3% |
| Sep 2009 |
28% |
40% |
26% |
6% |
| Aug 2009 |
42% |
38% |
14% |
6% |
Among those saying they approve of the way Obama
is handling his job, 59% say better than today, 35% say
the same as today, and 5% say worse than today. Among those
saying they disapprove of the
way Obama is handling his job, 4% say better than today, 47%
say
the same as today, and 41% 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 telephone interviews among a random sample of all adults age 18 and older
living in telephone households in the continental United States. Sample
Dates: August 17-20, 2010 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? |
