These are some of the results of The Harris Poll of 2,848 U.S. adults surveyed online between January 12 and 19, 2009 by Harris Interactive®.
Other interesting results of this survey include:
* While most people (72%) rated economic conditions in their region as bad, only 32% expected that their households’ financial situation would get worse in the next six months.
* When asked about their feelings on the economy in their region in the next six months, a 53% majority said they were pessimistic and 23% said they were optimistic.
* Only 6% of adults described the job market in their regions as good, while about three quarters (76%) described it as bad.
In replies to most of the questions, a somewhat smaller proportion of adults in the South gave pessimistic responses than did people in other regions. For example:
* 57% of Southerners, compared to 63% of people in the West and 60% in the Midwest, said their households’ financial situation had become worse.
* 28% of Southerners, compared to 33% or 34% in the other regions, expected their households’ financial situation to get worse in the next six months.
* 50% of Southerners, compared to 54% to 57% in other regions, said they were pessimistic about the economy over the next six months.
* 45% of Southerners, compared to 54% of people in the East and 53% in the Midwest, expected the job market in their regions to get worse in the next six months.
