Many Americans’ Optimism On Job Market Peaks, But So Does Doubt By Those Earning The Least

Fully 27 percent of Americans now say they are optimistic about the availability of quality jobs in the U.S., the highest percentage since January 2008, a Gallup study published Sept. 18 found.

The optimism increased from 21 percent in August and 25 and 26 percent in June and July, respectively.

But along with the five-year high is a new low — the percentage of low-income earners (less than $30,000) who express the same optimism. Nineteen percent of lower-income Americans say now is a good time to find a quality job, unchanged from August, but down from 26 percent in July and 30 percent in June.

In the same survey, 33 percent of upper-income ($75,000 or more) Americans and 26 percent of middle-income ($30,000- $74,999) Americans expressed optimism, both increases from August. Gallup’s findings seem to echo a recently published Associated Press analysis that found the gap in employment rates between America’s highest- and lowest-income families is the widest in the 10 years of data the AP collected.

That analysis claimed unemployment rates for the lowest-income families (earning less than $20,000 a year) rose to 21 percent, nearly matching overall unemployment during the Great Depression. The highest-income families (earning more than $150,000 a year) have an unemployment rate of 3.2 percent, which economists consider full employment.

Most optimistic participants in the Gallup survey identified with the Democratic party or fell into a category such as young adults ages 18 to 29, blacks and/or Hispanics that commonly makes up the Democratic party. Republicans and seniors 65 and older expressed the least optimism about the job market. Thirty-one percent of men and 23 percent of women said now is a good time to find a quality job in the U.S.