Ipsos Consumers Method
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 10:11 a.m. ET
The Associated Press-Ipsos poll on attitudes about the economy was based on telephone interviews with 1,001 randomly selected adults from all states except Alaska and Hawaii. The interviews were conducted April 4-6 by Ipsos-Public Affairs.
The results were weighted to represent the population by demographic factors such as age, sex, region, race and income.
No more than one time in 20 should chance variations in the sample cause the results to vary by more than 3 percentage points from the answers that would be obtained if all Americans were polled.
There are other sources of potential error in polls, including the wording and order of questions. Numbers below are percentages, an asterisk signifies less than 1 percent.
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1. Rate the current state of the economy in your local area using a scale from 1 to 7, where 7 means a very strong economy today and 1 means a very weak economy.
--7, 6 percent (very strong economy)
--6, 11 percent
--5, 34 percent
--4, 20 percent
--3, 14 percent
--2, 6 percent
--1, 8 percent (very weak economy)
--Not sure, 1
2. Looking ahead six months from now, do you expect the economy in your local area to be much stronger, somewhat stronger, about the same, somewhat weaker or much weaker than it is now?
--Much stronger, 7 percent
--Somewhat stronger, 21 percent
--About the same, 54 percent
--Somewhat weaker, 11 percent
--Much weaker, 7 percent
3. Rate your current financial situation using a scale from 1 to 7, where 7 means your personal financial situation is very strong today and 1 means it is very weak.
--7, 9 percent (very strong)
--6, 16 percent
--5, 28 percent
--4, 20 percent
--3, 9 percent
--2, 6 percent
--1, 10 percent (very weak)
--Not sure, 2 percent
4. Looking ahead six months from now, do you expect your personal financial situation to be much stronger, somewhat stronger, about the same, somewhat weaker or much weaker than it is now?
--Much stronger, 11 percent
--Stronger, 25 percent
--About the same, 52 percent
--Somewhat weaker, 7 percent
--Much weaker, 4 percent
--Not sure, 1 percent
5. Compared to six months ago, are you now more or less comfortable making a major purchase like a home or a car?
--More comfortable, 35 percent
--Less comfortable, 45 percent
--No change, 19 percent
--Not sure, 1 percent
6. Compared to six months ago, are you now more or less comfortable making other household purchases?
--More comfortable, 42 percent
--Less comfortable, 39 percent
--No change, 18 percent
--Not sure, 1 percent
7. Compared to six months ago, are you now more or less confident about job security for yourself, your family and other people you know personally?
--More confident, 38 percent
--Less confident, 42 percent
--No change (volunteered), 18 percent
--Not sure, 2 percent
8. Compared to six months ago, are you now more or less confident of your ability to invest in the future, including your ability to save money for your retirement or your children's education?
--More confident, 38 percent
--Less confident, 45 percent
--No change (volunteered), 15 percent
--Not sure, 2 percent
9. Thinking of the last six months, have you, someone in your family, or someone else you know personally lost their job as a result of economic conditions?
--Yes, 35 percent
--No, 65 percent
10. Now, look ahead at the next six months. How likely is it that you, someone in your family, or someone else you know personally will lose their job in the next six months as a result of economic conditions?
--Extremely likely, 7 percent
--Very likely, 12 percent
--Somewhat likely, 26 percent
--Not very likely, 31 percent
--Not at all likely, 22 percent
--Not sure, 2 percent |
