Recession Jitters
Poll: Public's Economic Concern Grows

Analysis

By: Gary Langer

The economy now rivals terrorism when it comes to the issues that concern average Americans the most, a new ABCNEWS.com poll finds.

Sampling, data collection and tabulation for this poll were done by TNS Intersearch.

Asked to choose between the two, 49% say terrorism is the bigger problem facing the nation today. But - with recession officially upon us and no terrorist strikes since September 11 - about as many, 47%, say it's the economy.

This result underscores the urgency with which the Bush administration has been pushing Congress for an economic stimulus package. While President Bush's job approval rating remains extraordinarily high in today's wartime environment, it's always vulnerable to economic discontent - as Bush's father demonstrated during the downturn of the early 1990's.

Other polls have shown an easing of concern about imminent terrorism. The number of people calling terrorism (or related issues) the nation's most important problem has lost 17 points since October in Gallup polls, to 47%. Meanwhile, the the number saying it's the economy has grown by 10 points, to 30%.

That's in an open-ended question; this poll, measuring the two concerns head to head, finds an even closer division in opinion.

Naturally, of course, both issues are concerns: Terrorism personally affects fewer people, but carries devastating consequences to those it does touch. Economic troubles are less damaging, but have much broader personal impact.

Where you stand depends, in part, on where you live. In the Northeast, where the September 11 attacks occurred, people call terrorism a bigger problem than the economy by a 16-point margin, 57-41%. In the Midwest and West, by contrast, the economy is seen as a bigger problem, by a five- or six-point edge.