It shouldn't be a surprise that Americans' top concern is unemployment, but of course in political circles it somehow will be surprising. Get a clue, Washington.
Gallup asks people every month what they think is the most important problem facing the country, and offers several choices, including "the economy in general," and unemployment/jobs." In reality, of course, the two are closely connected. Unemployment won't significantly decline until the economy itself gets moving again -- and that won't happen until demand picks up. Still, the question helps get at what's on people's minds, and what the specific focus of their concern is.
This month, with the official jobless rate at 9.1 percent, 39 percent of respondents said unemployment, up from 28 percent last month. Meanwhile, the share who said the economy in general declined from 31 to 28.
In the 95 months since the start of 2004, this is just the seventh time that the number of people naming unemployment has exceeded the number naming the economy in general. And the 11-point gap is the largest in favor of unemployment since then.
