January 21, 2012
Obama Job Approval Ratings Drop
A
total of 41% of Americans say they
approve of the way Barack Obama is handling his job as president
and
55% say they disapprove
of
the way Obama is handling his
job according
to the
latest survey
from the American Research
Group. In December, 46% of Americans approved
of
the
job Obama was doing and 51% disapproved. When it comes
to Obama's handling of the economy, 35% of Americans approve
and 60% disapprove. In December, 42% approved and 54% disapproved.
Among
Americans registered to vote, 42% approve
of the way Obama is handling his job as president and 54% disapprove.
On Obama's handling of the economy, 35% of registered voters
approve and 60% disapprove. A total of 38% of Americans
say the national
economy is getting worse, 30% say the national economy is getting better, and 31% say the national economy is staying the same. Among those
saying
they approve of the way Obama is handling his job as president,
69% say the national economy
is getting better, 21% say it is staying the same, and
8% say it is getting worse. Among
those saying they disapprove of the way Obama is handling his
job as president, 61%
say the national economy is getting
worse, 37% say it is staying the same, and 2% say it is getting
better.
Less than one-quarter of Americans saying they
approve of the way Obama is handling his job as president say the financial situations in their
households are getting better. A total of 52% of Americans say the financial situations in
their households are staying the same, 34% say their financial situations are getting worse,
and 13% say their financial situations are getting better. Among those saying the approve of
the way Obama is handling his job as president, 62% say their financial situations are staying
the same, 23% say their financial situations are getting better, and 13% say their financial
situations are getting worse. Among those saying the disapprove of the way Obama is handling
his job as president, 49% say their financial situations are the same, 47% say their financial
situations are getting worse, and 4% say their financial situations are getting better.
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 January 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, 41% of Americans say that they
approve of the way Barack Obama is handling his job as president,
55% disapprove, and 4% are undecided.
|
Obama job approval
|
Approve
|
Disapprove
|
Undecided
|
|
| 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% |
| Mar 2011 |
48% |
47% |
5% |
| Feb
2011 |
48% |
48% |
4% |
| Jan 2011 |
50% |
46% |
4% |
Among Republicans (32% of adults registered to vote in the survey and 29% of
all adults in the survey), 4%
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), 80% approve
and 17% disapprove of the way Obama is handling
his job. Among independents (35% of adults registered to vote
in the survey and 32% of all adults in the survey), 40%
approve and 57% disapprove of the way Obama is handling his
job as president.
Overall, 35% of Americans
say that they
approve
of the way Barack Obama is handling the economy, 60% disapprove,
and 5% are undecided.
Among registered voters, 35% approve and 60% disapprove
of
the way Obama is handling the economy.
|
Obama handling the economy
|
Approve
|
Disapprove
|
Undecided
|
|
| 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% |
| Mar 2011 |
42% |
51% |
7% |
| Feb 2011 |
42% |
51% |
7% |
| Jan 2011 |
49% |
49% |
2% |
Among Republicans, 4% approve of the way Obama is handling the economy and
91% disapprove. Among
Democrats, 69% approve of the way Obama is handling the economy
and 26% disapprove.
Among independents, 31% approve and 64%
disapprove of the way Obama is handling the economy.
A total of 30% of Americans say that the national
economy is
getting
better, 31% say it is staying the same, and 38% say
the national economy is getting worse.
|
National economy |
Getting better |
Staying the same |
Getting worse |
Undecided |
|
| 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% |
| Mar 2011 |
27% |
28% |
42% |
3% |
| Feb 2011 |
31% |
26% |
41% |
2% |
| Jan 2011 |
43% |
23% |
32% |
2% |
Among those saying they approve of the way Obama
is handling his job, 69% say getting better, 21% say staying
the same, and 8% say getting worse. Of those saying
they
disapprove of the way Obama
is handling his job, 2% say getting better, 37% say staying
the same, and 61% say getting worse.
A total
of 39% of Americans say they believe
the national economy will be better a year from now, 32% say
it will be the same, and 26% say
it will be worse.
|
National economy a year from now |
Better than today |
The same as today |
Worse than today |
Undecided |
|
| 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% |
| Mar 2011 |
43% |
22% |
31% |
4% |
| Feb 2011 |
39% |
29% |
26% |
6% |
| Jan 2011 |
53% |
21% |
23% |
3% |
Among those saying they approve of the way Obama is handling his job, 77% say better,
21% 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, 12% say better, 39% say the same, and
45%
say worse.
Overall, 52% of Americans say they believe
that the national economy
is in a recession, 28% say they
do
not believe the economy is in
a recession, and 20% are undecided.
| National economy in a recession
|
Yes
|
No
|
Undecided
|
|
| 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% |
| Mar 2011 |
61% |
25% |
14% |
| Feb 2011 |
56% |
27% |
17% |
| Jan 2011 |
51% |
28% |
21% |
Among those saying they approve of the way Obama
is handling his job, 33% say the national economy is in a
recession, 38% say the national economy is not in
a recession, and 294% are undecided.
Of those saying they disapprove of the way Obama is handling
his job, 652% say the national economy
is in a recession, 20% say the national economy is not
in
a recession, and 15% are undecided.
A
total of 29% of Americans rate
the national economy as excellent, very good, or good and 70%
rate it as
bad, very bad, or terrible.
|
National economy |
Excellent |
Very good |
Good |
Bad |
Very bad |
Terrible |
Undecided |
|
| 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% |
| Mar 2011 |
1% |
2% |
28% |
35% |
12% |
21% |
1% |
| Feb 2011 |
2% |
8% |
20% |
30% |
16% |
23% |
1% |
| Jan 2011 |
2% |
6% |
27% |
35% |
15% |
14% |
1% |
Among those saying they approve of the way Obama
is handling his job, 55% say very good, or good
and 45% say bad, very bad, or terrible.
Among
those saying they
disapprove of the way Obama
is handling his job, 12% say very good, or good
and 87% 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 34%
give a bad, very bad, or terrible rating.
|
Household financial situation |
Excellent |
Very good |
Good |
Bad |
Very bad |
Terrible |
Undecided |
|
| 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% |
| Mar 2011 |
5% |
18% |
38% |
27% |
4% |
7% |
1% |
| Feb 2011 |
4% |
19% |
39% |
24% |
5% |
8% |
1% |
| Jan 2011 |
10% |
18% |
44% |
15% |
7% |
5% |
1% |
Among those saying they approve of the way Obama
is handling his job, 85% 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, 50% say very
good,
or good and 49% say
bad, very bad, or terrible.
A total of 13% of Americans say
they think the financial situations
in their households are getting better, 52% say staying the
same, and 34% say getting worse.
|
Household financial situation |
Getting better |
Staying the same |
Getting worse |
Undecided |
|
| 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% |
| Mar 2011 |
12% |
54% |
31% |
3% |
| Feb 2011 |
8% |
52% |
38% |
2% |
| Jan 2011 |
18% |
52% |
28% |
2% |
Among those saying they approve of the way Obama
is handling his job, 23% say getting better, 62% say staying
the same, and 13% say getting worse. Among those saying
they disapprove of the way Obama is handling his job, 4%
say
getting better, 49% say
staying the same, and 47% say getting worse.
Looking
to a year from now, 31%
of Americans say that they think their household financial
situations will be better than today, 42% say the same as today,
and 22% say worse than today.
|
Household financial situation a year from now |
Better than today |
The same as today |
Worse than today |
Undecided |
|
| 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% |
| Mar 2011 |
31% |
42% |
23% |
4% |
| Feb 2011 |
28% |
42% |
24% |
6% |
| Jan 2011 |
34% |
41% |
20% |
5% |
Among those saying they approve of the way Obama
is handling his job, 59% say better than today, 38% say
the same as today, and 3% say worse than today. Among those
saying they disapprove of the
way Obama is handling his job, 12% say better than today, 43%
say
the same as today, and 35% 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: January 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? |
