State of the Nation

78% say that the country is off on the wrong track. This is a jump of 16% since early September.

Only 14% say the country is going in the right direction, down 16% from September. The wrong track number was in the 70s during most of 2008, and hit 78% in October 2008. Going back further, to September 2001, the wrong track number never reached 78%. The last time the right track number hit 14% or lower was in October 2008, when it dropped to 12%. [NBC/WSJ 10/7/13]

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Employment

The Bureau of Labor Statistics has not published unemployment statistics for September as a result of the Federal government shut down.

The Gallup 30-day rolling average survey has continued. As of September 30th it found unemployment to be 7.7% and underemployment to be 17.1%.

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In 2005, 78% of us trusted the “American people” to make judgments about political issues facing the country, and 58% trusted “politicians” to make those judgments. Today, only 61% trust the “American people” and only 46% trust the “politicians.”

In mid-2012, 38% of Americans thought it was best to have a one-party Federal government, with the President and Congress being of the same party. Over the last decade it has been as high as 40% (in mid-2010). Today, it is 25%.

In that same time period, the expressed need for a third major U.S. political party has reached a new high, with 60% holding that view. The previous high was 58% in mid-2010 and mid-2007. [Gallup 9/27/13, 10/11/13]

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21% of U.S. married households have one spouse who is foreign-born. [U.S. Census Bureau]

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Americans now cite dysfunctionality of the Federal government as the most important problem facing the country today, with 33% having that view. It exceeds the number citing the economy (19%) and unemployment (12%) combined (31%). [Gallup 10/9/13]

In late 2006, 40% of Republicans thought there was too much regulation of business. Only 36% of Democrats held that view. Now, 73% of Republicans and 26% of Democrats hold that view. [Gallup 10/3/13]

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The median, inflation-adjusted income of households in the U.S. has not yet returned to its 1999 high.

$51,017 -- 2012
$55,627 – 2007
$56,080 – 1999
$48,884 -- 1993

Women earned 76.5 cents for every dollar earned by men in 2012. This is slightly less than the 77 cents they earned in 2011. The current median income for men is $49,398. The median income for women is $37,791.

From 1980 to 1990, women moved up 11.4 cents for every dollar earned by a man, an increase from 60.2 cents to 71.6 cents. However, in the 22 years from 1990 to 2012 the upward movement has only been 4.9 cents.

19.7% of Americans are living in or near the poverty level (125 % of poverty level), while 15% are living below the poverty level.

The mal-distribution of income continues to be a growing problem.

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In the current NBC/WSJ survey, the Tea Party Movement has its lowest positive feelings rating, at 21%, and its highest negative rating, at 48%. The high point, as recorded by this survey was in June 2010, when 34% had positive feelings and 31% had negative feelings.



In a survey of 24 countries, the United States ranks 16th in the proportion of those indicating that social media is important to them. In those 24 countries over all 42% say that social media is important to them:

Turkey (64%), Brazil (63%), Indonesia (62%) China (61%), India (59%), Saudi Arabia (59%), Mexico (54%), South Africa (52%), Argentina (45%), Russia (44%), Spain (42%), Poland (37%), Hungary (36%), Sweden (35%), Germany (33%), Great Britain (33%), United States (32%), Australia (30%), Italy (30%), Belgium (29%), Canada (28%), South Korea (28%), Japan (24%). [Ipsos OTX]

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