April 23, 2012
Obama Overall Job Approval Unchanged
A
total of 49% of Americans say they
approve of the way Barack Obama is handling his job as president
and
46% say they disapprove
of
the way Obama is handling his
job according
to the
latest survey
from the American Research
Group. In March, 48% of Americans approved
of
the
job Obama was doing and 46% disapproved. When it comes
to Obama's handling of the economy, 47% of Americans approve
and 49% disapprove. In March, 44% approved and 50% disapproved.
Among
Americans registered to vote, 48% approve
of the way Obama is handling his job as president and 47% disapprove.
On Obama's handling of the economy, 47% of registered voters
approve and 50% disapprove. A total of 42% of Americans
say the national
economy is getting better, 24% say it is staying the same, and 33% say it is getting worse. Among those saying they approve of the way Obama is handling his job as president, 78% say the national economy is getting better, 19% say it is staying the same, and 3 say it is getting worse. Among those saying they disapprove of the way Obama is handling his job as president, 6% say they national economy is getting better, 25% say it is staying the same, and 69% say it is 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 April 17
through 20, 2012. 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, 49% of Americans say that they
approve of the way Barack Obama is handling his job as president,
46% disapprove, and 5% are undecided.
|
Obama job approval
|
Approve
|
Disapprove
|
Undecided
|
|
| Apr
2012 |
49% |
46% |
5% |
| Mar 2012 |
48% |
46% |
6% |
| Feb
2012 |
41% |
53% |
6% |
| Jan 2012 |
41% |
55% |
4% |
| Dec
2011 |
46% |
51% |
3% |
| Nov 2011 |
41% |
55% |
4% |
| Oct
2011 |
40% |
55% |
5% |
| Sep 2011 |
41% |
56% |
3% |
| Aug
2011 |
41% |
53% |
6% |
| Jul 2011 |
47% |
48% |
5% |
| Jun
2011 |
42% |
52% |
6% |
| May 2011 |
49% |
47% |
4% |
| Apr
2011 |
42% |
53% |
5% |
Among Republicans (33% of adults registered to vote in the survey and 30% of
all adults in the survey), 5%
approve of the way Obama is handling his job and 90% disapprove.
Among Democrats (35% of adults registered to vote in the survey
and 32% of all adults in the survey), 90% approve
and 6% disapprove of the way Obama is handling
his job. Among independents (32% of adults registered to vote
in the survey and 29% of all adults in the survey), 47%
approve and 47% disapprove of the way Obama is handling his
job as president.
Overall, 47% of Americans
say that they
approve
of the way Barack Obama is handling the economy, 49% disapprove,
and 4% are undecided.
Among registered voters, 47% approve and 50% disapprove
of
the way Obama is handling the economy.
|
Obama handling the economy
|
Approve
|
Disapprove
|
Undecided
|
|
| Apr 2012 |
47% |
49% |
4% |
| Mar 2012 |
44% |
50% |
6% |
| Feb 2012 |
41% |
53% |
6% |
| Jan 2012 |
35% |
60% |
5% |
| Dec 2011 |
42% |
54% |
4% |
| Nov 2011 |
38% |
59% |
3% |
| Oct 2011 |
34% |
61% |
5% |
| Sep 2011 |
37% |
60% |
3% |
| Aug 2011 |
40% |
55% |
5% |
| Jul 2011 |
41% |
54% |
5% |
| Jun 2011 |
39% |
55% |
6% |
| May 2011 |
43% |
52% |
5% |
| Apr 2011 |
41% |
54% |
5% |
Among Republicans, 5% approve of the way Obama is handling the economy and
91% disapprove. Among
Democrats, 88% approve of the way Obama is handling the economy
and 10% disapprove.
Among independents, 47% approve and 50%
disapprove of the way Obama is handling the economy.
A total of 42% of Americans say that the national
economy is
getting
better, 24% say it is staying the same, and 33% say
the national economy is getting worse.
|
National economy |
Getting better |
Staying the same |
Getting worse |
Undecided |
|
| Apr 2012 |
42% |
24% |
33% |
1% |
| Mar 2012 |
41% |
29% |
28% |
2% |
| Feb 2012 |
36% |
17% |
45% |
2% |
| Jan 2012 |
30% |
31% |
38% |
1% |
| Dec 2011 |
27% |
28% |
42% |
3% |
| Nov 2011 |
20% |
26% |
49% |
5% |
| Oct 2011 |
17% |
23% |
58% |
2% |
| Sep 2011 |
12% |
31% |
53% |
4% |
| Aug 2011 |
21% |
25% |
51% |
3% |
| Jul 2011 |
22% |
33% |
44% |
1% |
| Jun 2011 |
35% |
18% |
47% |
- |
| May 2011 |
29% |
32% |
34% |
5% |
| Apr 2011 |
28% |
21% |
47% |
4% |
Among those saying they approve of the way Obama
is handling his job, 78% say getting better, 19% say staying
the same, and 3% say getting worse. Of those saying
they
disapprove of the way Obama
is handling his job, 6% say getting better, 25% say staying
the same, and 69% say getting worse.
A total
of 52% of Americans say they believe
the national economy will be better a year from now, 19% say
it will be the same, and 20% say
it will be worse.
|
National economy a year from now |
Better than today |
The same as today |
Worse than today |
Undecided |
|
| Apr 2012 |
52% |
19% |
20% |
9% |
| Mar 2012 |
52% |
20% |
23% |
5% |
| Feb 2012 |
46% |
16% |
34% |
4% |
| Jan 2012 |
39% |
32% |
26% |
3% |
| Dec 2011 |
38% |
27% |
29% |
6% |
| Nov 2011 |
24% |
36% |
35% |
5% |
| Oct 2011 |
33% |
28% |
36% |
3% |
| Sep 2011 |
28% |
24% |
42% |
6% |
| Aug 2011 |
41% |
19% |
35% |
5% |
| Jul 2011 |
36% |
23% |
40% |
1% |
| Jun 2011 |
38% |
24% |
32% |
6% |
| May 2011 |
42% |
21% |
33% |
4% |
| Apr 2011 |
34% |
21% |
39% |
6% |
Among those saying they approve of the way Obama is handling his job, 80% say better,
16% say the same as today, and 2% say worse than today.
Among those saying they disapprove of the way Obama is handling
his job as president, 15% say better, 25% say the same, and
43%
say worse.
Overall, 36% of Americans say they believe
that the national economy
is in a recession, 33% say they
do
not believe the economy is in
a recession, and 31% are undecided.
| National economy in a recession
|
Yes
|
No
|
Undecided
|
|
| Apr 2012 |
36% |
33% |
31% |
| Mar 2012 |
48% |
26% |
26% |
| Feb 2012 |
46% |
34% |
20% |
| Jan 2012 |
52% |
28% |
20% |
| Dec 2011 |
44% |
38% |
18% |
| Nov 2011 |
60% |
24% |
16% |
| Oct 2011 |
49% |
30% |
21% |
| Sep 2011 |
69% |
23% |
8% |
| Aug 2011 |
55% |
25% |
20% |
| Jul 2011 |
63% |
20% |
17% |
| Jun 2011 |
62% |
22% |
16% |
| May 2011 |
56% |
22% |
22% |
| Apr 2011 |
51% |
26% |
23% |
Among those saying they approve of the way Obama
is handling his job, 20% say the national economy is in a
recession, 50% say the national economy is not in
a recession, and 30% are undecided.
Of those saying they disapprove of the way Obama is handling
his job, 53% say the national economy
is in a recession, 15% say the national economy is not
in
a recession, and 32% are undecided.
A
total of 49% of Americans rate
the national economy as excellent, very good, or good and 50%
rate it as
bad, very bad, or terrible.
|
National economy |
Excellent |
Very good |
Good |
Bad |
Very bad |
Terrible |
Undecided |
|
| Apr 2012 |
7% |
9% |
33% |
24% |
9% |
17% |
1% |
| Mar 2012 |
2% |
11% |
26% |
30% |
17% |
13% |
1% |
| Feb 2012 |
4% |
6% |
30% |
27% |
14% |
18% |
1% |
| Jan 2012 |
2% |
3% |
24% |
37% |
16% |
17% |
1% |
| Dec 2011 |
2% |
5% |
24% |
37% |
12% |
19% |
1% |
| Nov 2011 |
3% |
7% |
17% |
33% |
17% |
22% |
1% |
| Oct 2011 |
4% |
8% |
13% |
31% |
18% |
25% |
1% |
| Sep 2011 |
4% |
6% |
13% |
28% |
28% |
20% |
1% |
| Aug 2011 |
1% |
3% |
17% |
38% |
19% |
21% |
1% |
| Jul 2011 |
3% |
5% |
19% |
38% |
24% |
10% |
1% |
| Jun 2011 |
1% |
3% |
19% |
40% |
16% |
20% |
1% |
| May 2011 |
2% |
3% |
23% |
41% |
11% |
19% |
1% |
| Apr 2011 |
2% |
2% |
20% |
36% |
19% |
20% |
1% |
Among those saying they approve of the way Obama
is handling his job, 85% say very good, or good
and 14% say bad, very bad, or terrible.
Among
those saying they
disapprove of the way Obama
is handling his job, 8% say very good, or good
and 91% say bad, very bad, or terrible.
When
it comes to rating their household
financial situations, 65% of Americans give an excellent, very
good, or good rating and 32%
give a bad, very bad, or terrible rating.
|
Household financial situation |
Excellent |
Very good |
Good |
Bad |
Very bad |
Terrible |
Undecided |
|
| Apr 2012 |
10% |
14% |
41% |
24% |
7% |
4% |
- |
| Mar 2012 |
6% |
16% |
52% |
15% |
5% |
5% |
1% |
| Feb 2012 |
6% |
16% |
37% |
28% |
7% |
5% |
1% |
| Jan 2012 |
10% |
15% |
40% |
22% |
8% |
4% |
1% |
| Dec 2011 |
3% |
19% |
45% |
23% |
3% |
6% |
1% |
| Nov 2011 |
6% |
15% |
44% |
22% |
9% |
3% |
1% |
| Oct 2011 |
11% |
15% |
32% |
22% |
7% |
12% |
1% |
| Sep 2011 |
10% |
13% |
48% |
24% |
1% |
3% |
1% |
| Aug 2011 |
1% |
16% |
50% |
23% |
6% |
3% |
1% |
| Jul 2011 |
7% |
17% |
47% |
21% |
4% |
3% |
1% |
| Jun 2011 |
4% |
14% |
45% |
25% |
8% |
3% |
1% |
| May 2011 |
9% |
16% |
42% |
20% |
6% |
6% |
1% |
| Apr 2011 |
6% |
9% |
49% |
24% |
8% |
3% |
1% |
Among those saying they approve of the way Obama
is handling his job, 86% say excellent, very good, or good
and 14% say bad, very bad, or terrible.
Among those saying they disapprove
of the way Obama is handling his job, 42% say very
good,
or good and 58% say
bad, very bad, or terrible.
A total of 19% of Americans say
they think the financial situations
in their households are getting better, 50% say staying the
same, and 29% say getting worse.
|
Household financial situation |
Getting better |
Staying the same |
Getting worse |
Undecided |
|
| Apr 2012 |
19% |
50% |
29% |
2% |
| Mar 2012 |
20% |
53% |
25% |
2% |
| Feb 2012 |
18% |
43% |
36% |
3% |
| Jan 2012 |
13% |
52% |
34% |
1% |
| Dec 2011 |
8% |
48% |
42% |
2% |
| Nov 2011 |
7% |
53% |
33% |
7% |
| Oct 2011 |
10% |
45% |
41% |
4% |
| Sep 2011 |
11% |
42% |
45% |
2% |
| Aug 2011 |
9% |
52% |
35% |
4% |
| Jul 2011 |
14% |
57% |
28% |
1% |
| Jun 2011 |
16% |
52% |
30% |
2% |
| May 2011 |
13% |
56% |
29% |
2% |
| Apr 2011 |
7% |
53% |
38% |
2% |
Among those saying they approve of the way Obama
is handling his job, 31% say getting better, 61% say staying
the same, and 5% say getting worse. Among those saying
they disapprove of the way Obama is handling his job, 4%
say
getting better, 36% say
staying the same, and 58% say getting worse.
Looking
to a year from now, 37%
of Americans say that they think their household financial
situations will be better than today, 35% say the same as today,
and 20% say worse than today.
|
Household financial situation a year from now |
Better than today |
The same as today |
Worse than today |
Undecided |
|
| Apr 2012 |
37% |
35% |
20% |
8% |
| Mar 2012 |
36% |
40% |
21% |
3% |
| Feb 2012 |
29% |
38% |
32% |
1% |
| Jan 2012 |
31% |
42% |
22% |
5% |
| Dec 2011 |
23% |
40% |
28% |
9% |
| Nov 2011 |
19% |
47% |
24% |
10% |
| Oct 2011 |
21% |
39% |
34% |
6% |
| Sep 2011 |
25% |
44% |
28% |
3% |
| Aug 2011 |
25% |
40% |
32% |
3% |
| Jul 2011 |
28% |
48% |
21% |
3% |
| Jun 2011 |
31% |
34% |
26% |
9% |
| May 2011 |
33% |
38% |
25% |
4% |
| Apr 2011 |
25% |
42% |
32% |
1% |
Among those saying they approve of the way Obama
is handling his job, 53% say better than today, 38% say
the same as today, and 6% say worse than today. Among those
saying they disapprove of the
way Obama is handling his job, 15% say better than today, 38%
say
the same as today, and 38% 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: April 17-20, 2012 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? |
