Gallup Poll News Service back issues from May 2009:
Swine Flu Worries 25% in U.S., Slight Impact on Behaviors; Now 6% say they skipped shopping or eating out because of flu concerns.(Survey)
May 01, 2009; ... Byline: Frank Newport Synopsis: The number of Americans who worry about getting swine flu has edged up from 22% Tuesday to 25% Thursday, while 6% of Americans now report that they have decided not to shop or go to restaurants, and 5% of parents say they kept a child out of ...
Obama Approval High Among Muslims, Jews, and Catholics; Catholics give Obama higher approval score than Protestants.(Barack Obama)(Survey)
May 01, 2009; ... Byline: Lydia Saad Synopsis: Despite the flare-up over the University of Notre Dame's outreach to President Barack Obama, 67% of rank-and-file Catholics approve of Obama's job performance, higher than the 58% found among Protestants. Among religious groups, Muslims and Jews give ...
Major Gains in Blacks' Ratings of Their Standard of Living; Increases first observed in January; ratings have recovered to early 2008 levels.(Survey)
May 04, 2009; ... Byline: Jeffrey M. Jones Synopsis: After falling to as low as -1 last fall, blacks' score on Gallup's Standard of Living Index spiked to +39 in January, and has continued to improve since then to +62. The Index measures perceptions of one's current and future standard of ...
U.S. Swine Flu Fear Abates; Precautionary Steps Still Sparse; Nineteen percent now worried about catching the illness.(Survey)
May 04, 2009; ... Byline: Lydia Saad Synopsis: New Gallup polling finds 19% of Americans saying they personally worried "yesterday" about getting swine flu, down slightly from 25% saying this late last week. The poll also shows no increase in the percentages of Americans taking precautionary ...
Weekly Economic Wrap: Spending, Jobs Defy Mood; Consumer mood is less pessimistic but consumer spending and jobs are not improving.(Survey)
May 05, 2009; ... Byline: Dennis Jacobe, Chief Economist Synopsis: Gallup Poll Daily tracking for the week ending May 3 finds consumers' mood leveling off near its best point of the year, but consumer spending is down 53% from the same week a year ago and new hiring data suggest the job-market ...
Americans' Satisfaction With U.S. Doubles Since January; At 34%, however, satisfaction is still low on an absolute basis.(Survey)
May 05, 2009; ... Byline: Frank Newport Synopsis: While still low on an absolute basis, the percentage of Americans who are satisfied with the way things are going in the U.S. (34%) has doubled since Barack Obama took office. The increase is driven by Democrats and independents; Republicans' ...
Ahead of Stress Tests, Confidence in U.S. Banks Remains Low; While 35% have "very little" confidence in banks, only 20% have "a great deal" or "quite a lot".(Survey)
May 06, 2009; ... Byline: Dennis Jacobe, Chief Economist Synopsis: Americans' confidence in U.S. banks remains low, with only 20% saying they have "a great deal" or "quite a lot" of confidence while 35% say they have "very little" confidence during the week ending May 3. PRINCETON, NJ ...
Republicans Face Steep Uphill Climb Among Women; Men increasingly identifying as independents, drifting away from GOP.(Grand Old Party)(Survey)
May 06, 2009; ... Byline: Jeffrey M. Jones Synopsis: The Democratic Party continues to have a bedrock of support among women, with 41% identifying as Democrats and only 27% as Republicans. While men are now about equally likely to identify as Republicans (28%) or Democrats (30%), they are most ...
Moldova's Recount Highlights Troubled Election Process; Just 22% of Moldovans are confident in the honesty of their elections.(Survey)
May 06, 2009; ... Byline: Aaron Rice Synopsis: Following political violence and protests in Moldova in April, Gallup reveals that Moldovans report less confidence in their elections and their media than citizens in several Former Soviet Union countries where Gallup surveyed. ...
Americans Split on Media Coverage of Swine Flu; Few are personally worried they or a family member will get it.(Survey)
May 07, 2009; ... Byline: Lymari Morales Synopsis: Americans are as likely to say the media have exaggerated the dangers of swine flu (45%) as to say the news reports are about right (46%). Personal worry about getting swine flu is down to 17% from 25% a week ago, and only 20% think the virus is ...
Unemployment Rate Likely Lower Than Consensus; Gallup's model suggests April unemployment rate likely below 8.9% consensus.(Survey)
May 07, 2009; ... Byline: Dennis Jacobe, Chief Economist Synopsis: Gallup's Net New Hiring Index suggests that April's unemployment rate is likely to come in lower than the 8.9% consensus estimate when the Labor Department reports it on Friday. PRINCETON, NJ -- Gallup's projection, ...
U.S., Canada Show More Interfaith Cohesion Than Europe; European Muslims embrace their nations, but the latter do not embrace them.(Survey)
May 07, 2009; ... Byline: Adam Sitte Synopsis: A new report from Gallup and the Coexist Foundation reveals that residents of the U.S. and Canada are more likely than Europeans surveyed to be classified as "integrated." It also reveals that European Muslims and the general publics have different ...
Savings Accounts, Real Estate Seen as Best Investments; Stocks, bonds less likely to be viewed as the best long-term investment.(Survey)
May 08, 2009; ... Byline: Jeffrey M. Jones Synopsis: Americans are most likely to choose savings accounts (34%) or real estate (33%) over stocks (15%) and bonds (12%) as the best long-term investment. In recent years, Americans have become more bullish on savings accounts and less so on real ...
Democrats Do Best Among Generation Y and Baby Boomers; Republicans do better among Generation X.(Survey)
May 08, 2009; ... Byline: Frank Newport Synopsis: Democrats have their greatest party identification advantage over Republicans among young Americans under 30 and among baby boomers. Democrats still have an advantage, although somewhat smaller, among seniors and in particular among Americans in ...
Obama Approval Picks Up in May; Still, only 25% say they would definitely vote to re-elect him in 2012.(Barack Obama)(Survey)
May 11, 2009; ... Byline: Lydia Saad Synopsis: President Obama's job approval ratings thus far in May are among the highest of his presidency, exceeding the 63% average for his first 100 days. Despite Obama's current 66% approval from Americans, recent Gallup polling finds only 25% saying they ...
Approval of Congress Remains Steady at 37%; Last three months mark a substantial uptick compared to 2008.(Survey)
May 11, 2009; ... Byline: Frank Newport Synopsis: Congressional job approval is 37% this May, not statistically different from readings of March and April, but well above the average congressional job approval rating of 19% recorded for all of 2008. PRINCETON, NJ -- Americans give ...
In Latin America, Less Than Half Familiar With Ethanol; Majority of those familiar with ethanol likely to support its use.(Survey)
May 11, 2009; ... Byline: Ian T. Brown Synopsis: Gallup finds that less than half of respondents in many Latin American countries have heard of ethanol. Of those who have heard of it, Gallup finds majorities in nearly every country would support a referendum to start replacing gasoline for ...
Weekly Economic Wrap: Mood Hits 16-Month High; Consumers' mood surged last week, hitting highest point since first week of January 2008.(Survey)
May 12, 2009; ... Byline: Dennis Jacobe, Chief Economist Synopsis: All Gallup Poll Daily economic measures improved during the week ending on Mother's Day, with consumer mood approaching its best weekly level since Gallup Poll Daily tracking began in January 2008. PRINCETON, NJ -- The ...
Smaller Majority Calls Economy "Most Important Problem"; Two-thirds cite some aspect of the economy, down from 86% in February.(Survey)
May 12, 2009; ... Byline: Lydia Saad Synopsis: For the first time since the run-up in public concern about the economy last fall, fewer than 7 in 10 Americans -- now 69% -- cite the economy or a specific aspect of it as the nation's "most important problem." Still, the economy continues to swamp ...
Pakistanis Generally See Taliban's Influence as Negative; But many surveyed before offensive didn't know or wouldn't say.(Survey)
May 12, 2009; ... Byline: Julie Ray Synopsis: Before Pakistan's recent military operation to dislodge the Taliban from the country's North West Frontier Province, a Gallup Poll found nearly half of Pakistanis (47%) believed the Taliban's presence has a negative influence, while 14% said it has a ...
Post-Stress Tests, Confidence in U.S. Banks Improves Slightly; Americans' confidence improved by three to four points over May 7-11.(Survey)
May 13, 2009; ... Byline: Dennis Jacobe, Chief Economist Synopsis: Gallup Poll Daily tracking shows that Americans' confidence in U.S. banks increased by a small but significant degree during May 7-11 -- the days immediately after release of the banking "stress test" results. ...
No Clamor for High Court Appointee to Be Woman, Minority; As in 2005, majority of Americans say gender, race, and ethnicity of appointee don't matter.(Survey)
May 13, 2009; ... Byline: Frank Newport Synopsis: Despite expectations that President Barack Obama will appoint a woman to the Supreme Court, 64% of Americans say it doesn't matter to them whether the next justice is a woman, with even higher percentages saying the same about the appointment of a ...
Americans More Likely to Say Moral Values "Getting Better"; Still overwhelmingly believe values are getting worse.(Survey)
May 14, 2009; ... Byline: Jeffrey M. Jones Synopsis: Americans still overwhelmingly believe moral values in the U.S. are getting worse (71%) rather than better (21%), but the percentage who say moral values are getting better is up from 11% last year. PRINCETON, NJ -- Though Americans ...
"Thriving" Eclipses "Struggling" for First Time Since Early '08; Improvement in "thriving" in line with improving standard-of-living perceptions.(Survey)
May 14, 2009; ... Byline: Elizabeth Mendes Synopsis: Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index results for April find more Americans "thriving" than "struggling" for the first time since February 2008. The increase in "thriving" parallels an April rise in Americans' outlook for their standard of ...
More Americans "Pro-Life" Than "Pro-Choice" for First Time; Also, fewer think abortion should be legal "under any circumstances".(Survey)
May 15, 2009; ... Byline: Lydia Saad Synopsis: More Americans describe themselves as "pro-life" on abortion (51%) than "pro-choice" (42%) for the first time since Gallup began asking the question in 1995. Gallup also finds a shift to the right in terms of the circumstances in which Americans ...
In Africa, Signs of Hope in Battle Against Malaria; Poll trends tentatively suggest efforts to battle malaria may be working.(Survey)
May 15, 2009; ... Byline: Brett Pelham and Bob Tortora Synopsis: Gallup Polls conducted in 23 sub-Saharan African countries reveal the increasing presence of mosquito nets and use of antimalarial drugs. However, there is little overall change in public opinion on the prevalence of malaria. ...
Americans Consider Crossing Borders for Medical Care; Competition for high-quality, affordable medical care no longer local.(Survey)
May 18, 2009; ... Byline: Christopher Khoury Synopsis: A recent Gallup Poll finds that up to 29% of Americans would consider traveling abroad for medical procedures such as heart bypass surgery, hip or knee replacement, plastic surgery, cancer diagnosis and treatment, or alternative medical care ....
GOP Losses Span Nearly All Demographic Groups; Only frequent churchgoers show no decline in support since 2001.(Grand Old Party)(Survey)
May 18, 2009; ... Byline: Jeffrey M. Jones Synopsis: Nearly all major subgroups show decreased Republican Party affiliation compared to earlier this decade, including a 10-point drop among college graduates (from 47% to 37%). Only among some of its core constituencies has the GOP managed to ...
Afghans Eager for Pakistan to Put Them Ahead of Taliban; Respondents split on whether a strong relationship is important.(Survey)
May 18, 2009; ... Byline: Ian T. Brown Synopsis: Prior to Pakistan's recent offensive against the Taliban, a majority of Afghans (52%) perceived Pakistan to be supporting Taliban leadership, something 12% think it should do. In contrast, only 14% think Pakistan is helping with reconstruction in ...
Weekly Economic Wrap: Hiring Up, Spending Still Down.(Survey)
May 19, 2009; ... Byline: Dennis Jacobe, Chief Economist Synopsis: Last week, Gallup's Net New Hiring Index turned positive on a weekly basis for the first time since early January; even so, consumers continue to hold back on their spending -- which is down more than 40% from the same week a year ...
Americans Green-Light Higher Fuel Efficiency Standards; Majority support spans political parties and demographics.(Survey)
May 19, 2009; ... Byline: Lymari Morales Synopsis: A recent Gallup Poll reveals solid majority support for higher fuel efficiency standards such as those President Obama announced Tuesday. In March, 80% of Americans said they favored higher fuel efficiency standards for automobiles. ...
Republicans Move to the Right on Several Moral Issues; No change in Democrats' attitudes about what is morally acceptable.(Survey)
May 20, 2009; ... Byline: Lydia Saad Synopsis: Americans' views about the moral acceptability of 15 different social issues and policies haven't changed dramatically over the past year. However, Republicans have grown less supportive of embryonic stem-cell research, divorce, and gambling -- ...
Swine Flu Concern in U.S. Falls to New Low; Women under 50 remain the main worriers about getting the illness.(Survey)
May 20, 2009; ... Byline: Lydia Saad Synopsis: Just 13% of U.S. adults are now worried about getting swine flu, down from a high of 25% at the end of April. Most of the latest drop is seen among women under 50, who nevertheless remain the most concerned of any age-by-gender group. ...
Before War's End, Many Sri Lankans Optimistic About Peace; Yet, indicators of hope for peace became more negative over past two years.(Survey)
May 20, 2009; ... Byline: Brett Pelham, Rajesh Srinivasan, and Nicole Naurath Synopsis: In a 2008 Gallup Poll, 53% of Sri Lankans believed peace between the government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam would be achieved and 76% expressed support for the peace process between the two ...
Upper-Income Spending Declining in Early May; Gallup's self-reported Monitor of Consumer Spending provides new insights.(Survey)
May 21, 2009; ... Byline: Dennis Jacobe, Chief Economist Synopsis: Gallup's Monitor of Consumer Spending shows upper-income Americans' self-reported spending in the first half of May is down 15% compared to April and down 48% compared to the same days a year ago. PRINCETON, NJ -- ...
Pelosi Gets Poor Marks for Handling Interrogation Matter; More disapprove than approve of speaker's response.(Nancy Pelosi)(Survey)
May 21, 2009; ... Byline: Jeffrey M. Jones Synopsis: More Americans disapprove (47%) than approve (31%) of how House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has handled the matter concerning the government's use of harsh interrogation techniques. Meanwhile, majorities approve of the way Barack Obama and the CIA ...
Chinese Economy Climbs But Struggles to Spread Wealth; Roughly 4 in 10 Americans see China as world's leading economic power.(Survey)
May 21, 2009; ... Byline: Ian T. Brown and Tao Wu Synopsis: The proportion of Americans who think China is the world's leading economic power quadrupled between 2000 and 2009. However, in China, relative economic prosperity is offset by a widening wealth gap between urban and rural residents. ...
Recession Altering Plans for Half of Summer Travelers; Higher percentage of Americans than in past summers not planning to travel at all.(Survey)
May 22, 2009; ... Byline: Jeffrey M. Jones Synopsis: The economic recession is causing 52% of Americans who had summer recreation plans to alter those plans, most commonly by spending less for lodging, food, and entertainment. The percentage of Americans who do not plan to travel at all this ...
China and the U.S.: Competing for Political Influence; Leadership in both nations face legacy of low global approval.(Survey)
May 22, 2009; ... Byline: Ian T. Brown and Tao Wu Synopsis: Gallup assesses global approval ratings of Chinese and American leadership collected in more than 145 countries between 2006 and 2008. The results showed that the leadership in both nations must contend with relatively low approval ...
Military Veterans of All Ages Tend to Be More Republican; Political difference highest among younger veterans.(Survey)
May 25, 2009; ... Byline: Frank Newport Synopsis: Veterans are more likely to be Republican than are those of comparable ages who are not veterans. This Republican skew among veterans is at least minimally evident across all age groups, from those under 30 who have served in the military to those ...
In U.S., Nearly Half Exercise Less Than Three Days a Week; Americans who are exercising experience more happiness and less stress.(Survey)
May 26, 2009; ... Byline: Elizabeth Mendes Synopsis: The Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index reveals that nearly half of Americans (49%) exercise for at least 30 minutes less than three days per week. Those who are exercising are reaping not only physical, but also emotional benefits. ...
Weekly Economic Wrap: Pre-Memorial Day Spending Uptick; Consumers' mood levels off after early May surge.(Survey)
May 26, 2009; ... Byline: Dennis Jacobe, Chief Economist Synopsis: Gallup's Monitor of Consumer Spending was higher in the week leading up to Memorial Day than it was the previous week, while consumers' mood, which hit a high for the year in early May, continued to level off, and ratings of ...
Majority of Americans Continue to Oppose Gay Marriage; No change in support from last year.(Survey)
May 27, 2009; ... Byline: Jeffrey M. Jones Synopsis: Even though an increasing number of states have moved toward legalizing same-sex marriage in the past year, Americans' views on the matter have not changed, with 57% opposed and 40% in favor of legal recognition of gay marriages. Americans are ...
Many Icelanders Keen on Adopting Euro, Mixed on EU; About half of respondents identify extremely or very strongly with Europe.(Survey)
May 27, 2009; ... Byline: Ian T. Brown Synopsis: Before Iceland's recent parliamentary election, Gallup found Icelanders far more positive about adopting the euro than about EU membership, with 60% calling the former a good thing and 39% saying the same about the latter. Overall, about half of ...
Upper-Income Consumers Drive Economic Optimism Higher.(Survey)
May 28, 2009; ... Byline: Dennis Jacobe, Chief Economist Synopsis: Gallup's Consumer Mood Index shows economic optimism among upper-income consumers surging 67% over the past three months. Optimism is up among all income groups, with upper-income Americans more optimistic than lower- and ...
Stephanie TEST.
May 28, 2009 ... Synopsis: test WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index has, since January 2008, tracked Americans' collective well-being on a daily basis, surveying at least 1,000 U.S. adults nationwide each day, totaling more than 360,000 Americans for the year. The Index ...
Positive Initial Reaction to Sotomayor Nomination; Americans believe intellect, experience most important in Obama's choice.(Sonia Sotomayor )(Survey)
May 28, 2009; ... Byline: Frank Newport Synopsis: Americans' initial reactions to the news of President Obama's nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to serve on the U.S. Supreme Court are decidedly more positive than negative, with 47% rating the nomination as "excellent" or "good," 20% rating it ...
Knowing Someone Gay/Lesbian Affects Views of Gay Issues; Opposition to gay marriage higher among those who do not know someone who is gay/lesbian.(Survey)
May 29, 2009; ... Byline: Lymari Morales Synopsis: Americans who personally know someone who is gay or lesbian are more likely than those who do not to support legalized gay marriage, 49% to 27%. They are also more likely to think gay or lesbian relations should be legal and to be comfortable ...
Obama Approval Compares Favorably to Prior Presidents; Only three presidents since Eisenhower have had higher May ratings.(Survey)
May 29, 2009; ... Byline: Jeffrey M. Jones Synopsis: Barack Obama's 65% average approval rating for May compares favorably with post-World War II presidents at similar points in their presidencies. Obama's approval rating has been largely stable since he became president. PRINCETON, ...