Two in Three Working Americans (65%) Are Happy With Their Job

New York, NY - Nearly two thirds of Americans (65%) say they are happy with their current job, according to a new Ipsos poll conducted on behalf of SnagAJob, an hourly employment website and resource. The proportion of happy workers has increased by four percentage points from the 61% recorded a year ago. Only 6% say they are unhappy and the remaining 30% have neutral feelings.

Six in ten (57%) working Americans say that the economy is the most important issue facing the country today. This marks a dramatic rise since last year, when only two in ten (18%) said the economy was the most important issue. This year, only one in ten (10%, down from 21%) say that healthcare holds that title, while concern over war (8%, down from 20%) and immigration (8%, down from 14%) are also far behind.

In light of the rising gas prices, one in four (26%) working Americans say they have made adjustments to their commuting habits to deal with the increased cost of getting to work. Despite this, eight in ten (84%) still say their primary mode of transportation for getting to work is their car. The average working American's commute is 13.9 miles - with two in ten (19%) traveling over 25 miles to get to work.

Working Americans and the Presidential Election...

Thinking about the upcoming federal election, four in ten (40%) working Americans say they plan on voting for Barack Obama. Three in ten (32%), meanwhile, say they will vote for John McCain, while 3% say they will vote for someone else. It's possible this will change, however, as one in ten (11%) say they are not yet sure for whom they will vote - and a similar proportion (13%) either don't plan on voting or can't vote.

These are some of the findings of an Ipsos poll conducted July 17-31, 2008. For the survey, a nationally representative sample of 1,079 Americans employed in hourly or salaried employment were interviewed by telephone via Ipsos' U.S. Telephone Express omnibus. With a sample of this size, the results are considered accurate within 177 3.0 percentage points, 19 times out of 20, of what they would have been had the entire population of adults in the U.S. been polled. The margin of error will be larger within regions and for other sub-groupings of the survey population. These data were weighted to ensure the sample's regional and age/gender composition reflects that of the actual U.S. population according to data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Working Americans Have Shifted Their Focus towards the Economy ...

Six in ten (57%) say the economy is the most important issue facing the country today. The economy is by far the biggest issue on working Americans' minds - healthcare is a distant second place, with one in ten (10%) stating that it is the most important issue. Fewer cite war (8%), immigration (8%), environmental issues (7%), terrorist attacks (4%) and the housing market (3%) are the nation's #1 issue.

• Younger (60%) and middle-aged (58%) working Americans are more likely than older working Americans (48%) to say the economy is the most important issue.
• Concern over the economy has risen since last year, when only two in ten (18%) said it was the most important issue facing the country.
• Women (13%) are significantly more likely than men (8%) to say healthcare is the most important issue.

Eight in Ten Working Americans Say Their Primary Mode of Transportation to Get to Work Is a Car...

Eight in ten (84%) say that when it comes to finding a way to work, their car is their primary mode of transportation. While 5% of the country carpools, other options - including bus (3%), walking (2%), train or subway (2%), bicycle (2%) and telecommuting (1%) - are less popular.

• Those living in the South (90%) and the Midwest (86%) are more likely than those living in the West (81%) and the Northeast (77%) to say their car is their primary mode of transportation for getting to work.
• Working Americans who are married (86%) are more likely than those who are not (81%) to say they primarily use a car to get to work.

In light of the recent rise in gas prices, one in four (26%) say they have made adjustments to their commuting habits in order to save money. Seven in ten (69%) say they have not made any adjustments, while 4% of say that although they have not yet made adjustments, they plan to in the next three to six months.

The average working American commutes 13.9 miles to get to work. Half (51%) of working Americans say their commute is ten miles or less, while two in ten (19%) have to travel over 25 miles to get to their place of work.

• On average, men (14.7 miles) have further to go than do women (12.9 miles) to get to work.
• Those who use a car (14.2 miles) as their primary mode of transportation for commuting have further to go, on average, than do those who use another mode of transportation (10.8 miles).

Two Thirds of Working Americans Are Happy With Their Job...

Two thirds (65%) of working Americans say they are happy with their job at the moment. Three in ten (30%) say they have neutral feelings about their job, while only 6% of the country is currently unhappy with their job.

• Job satisfaction has risen by four percentage points since last year when 61% said they were happy with their job.
• Working Americans aged 55 and over (74%) are more likely than their counterparts aged 35-54 (67%) and those who are 18-34 (56%) to say they are happy with their job. Compared with a year ago, percentages of those happy with their job is up 9 points among older working Americans, up 5 points among those who are middle-aged and unchanged among younger ones.
• Those living in the Western states (70%) are more likely than those living in the Midwest (66%), the South (64%) and the Northeast (58%) to say they are happy with their job. The proportion of happy workers is up from last year in every region (by 6 points in the Northeast, 5 points in the South, 3 points in the West and 2 points in the Midwest.)
• Those who are married (69%) are more likely to be happy with their job than those who are not married (56%).

Obama (40%) Ahead of McCain (32%) in Vote Support...

Thinking about the upcoming American federal election, four in ten (40%) say they plan to vote for Barack Obama. Three in ten (32%) say they will vote for John McCain, while 3% of working Americans say they will vote for someone else. One in ten (13%) working Americans do not plan on voting or can't vote, while a similar proportion (11%) simply doesn't know who to vote for.

• Working Americans aged 18 to 34 (46%) are more likely than those aged 35 and over (37%) to say they will vote for Obama.
• Working adults living in the West (47%) are more likely than those living in the Northeast (40%), the Midwest (38%) or the South (37%) to say they will vote for Obama.
• Working men (35%) are more likely than working women (29%) to say they will vote for McCain.
• Married working Americans (36%) are more likely than unmarried working Americans (26%) to say they will vote for McCain.

About Ipsos Public Affairs Ipsos Public Affairs is one of the company's five research specializations. In the US, it has offices in New York City, Washington, DC, Chicago and Seattle. It specializes in corporate reputation, issues management, strategic communications and sociopolitical trends, serving the needs of corporations, non-profit organizations, public relations firms, news media and governments. Its toolbox for conducting tailor-made solutions includes rapid turnaround quantitative polling, qualitative focus groups, online panels, elite and stakeholder interviewing, syndicated subscriptions, and proprietary research techniques. Ipsos Public Affairs is well known as the polling partner of The Associated Press, the world's oldest and largest news organization.

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