Zogby-Scoop44 Poll: 47% Believe Bush Policies to Blame for Recent Job Losses

Survey finds 36% believe Obama administration policies are directly responsible for rising unemployment numbers

UTICA, New York - Nearly half of likely voters (47%) blame the policies of the Bush administration for continued job losses in the U.S., while 36% believe the policies of President Barack Obama's administration are directly responsible, a new Zogby-Scoop 44 interactive poll shows.

Article continues below...

Democrats (82%) are much more likely than Republicans (14%) or political independents (38%) to believe the policies of the Bush administration have had long reaching effects and are largely responsible for the continuing decline in the number of available jobs in the economy, in spite of the fact that there's a new administration. Nearly two-thirds of Republicans (64%) believe the policies of the Obama administration are directly responsible for job losses in the U.S. since the President took office, compared to 42% of independents and just 9% of Democrats.

Likely voters in all age groups are more likely to blame the policies of the Bush administration than those of the Obama administration for the nation's current job losses, but those age 18-29 are most likely to feel this way (56%). However, nearly one in four of these likely voters under the age of 30 (23%) believe the Obama administration is primarily responsible for the loss of jobs since he took office.

Methodology: The interactive survey of 1,978 likely voters nationwide was conducted Sept. 15-17, 2009, and carries a margin of error of +/- 2.2%. Margins of error may be higher in subgroups. A random sampling of Zogby International's online panel, which is representative of the adult population of the US, was invited to participate in this poll. The survey was commissioned by Scoop44.

Source: Zogby