It's All About Jobs, Except When It's Not: Unemployment and Presidential Approval Ratings 1981-2009

Report Read time:
It's All About Jobs, Except When It's Not: Unemployment and Presidential Approval Ratings 1981-2009

As the Obama administration redoubles its effort to communicate its concerns about unemployment in the face of sagging approval ratings, a look at the connection between the rise and fall of joblessness and the political fortunes of past presidents in the modern era is instructive. Recent history shows that the public response to all presidents has been shaped to some degree by rising or falling unemployment. However, only Ronald Reagan's ratings in his first term have borne as close a connection as have Obama's to changes in the unemployment rate.

In fact, the relationship between unemployment and presidential approval varies from crystal clear to murky. Indeed since 1981 there have been a number of times when the ties between changes in joblessness rates and public judgments of the president have been weak or even indiscernible. But the link is strongest when unemployment rises precipitously. And it weakens, or even disappears entirely, when other concerns – such as national security – become dominant public issues.

Read the full report It's All About Jobs, Except When It's Not: Unemployment and Presidential Approval Ratings 1981-2009 on the Pew Research Center's Web site.

America’s Overdose Crisis
America’s Overdose Crisis

America’s Overdose Crisis

Sign up for our five-email course explaining the overdose crisis in America, the state of treatment access, and ways to improve care

Sign up
Quick View
America’s Overdose Crisis

America’s Overdose Crisis

Sign up for our five-email course explaining the overdose crisis in America, the state of treatment access, and ways to improve care

Sign up

MORE FROM PEW

Getty Images Small Businesses in PA Support State Retirement Savings
A person wearing a helmet and harness climbs a ladder on a metallic wind turbine tower. How States Are Advancing Clean Energy
Six workers secure a large blue tarp on the roof of a two-story condominium under a cloudless blue sky. In the foreground is a badly damaged black SUV, along with large branches and pieces of homes—evidence that a strong storm recently struck. Disaster Resilience Efforts Vary Widely Among States
A long and wide wooden pier extends into a large body of water from a shoreline with a mix of low-rise buildings, houses, and trees. Two people are walking on the pier in the distance. Two other piers are visible in the background, as is a faraway mountain. WA Takes New Approach to Help Locals Boost Climate Resilience
Composite image of modern city network communication concept

Learn the Basics of Broadband from Our Limited Series

Sign up for our four-week email course on Broadband Basics
Quick View

How does broadband internet reach our homes, phones, and tablets? What kind of infrastructure connects us all together? What are the major barriers to broadband access for American communities?

Pills illustration
Pills illustration

What Is Antibiotic Resistance—and How Can We Fight It?

Sign up for our four-week email series The Race Against Resistance.
Quick View
Pills illustration

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria, also known as “superbugs,” are a major threat to modern medicine. But how does resistance work, and what can we do to slow the spread? Read personal stories, expert accounts, and more for the answers to those questions in our four-week email series: Slowing Superbugs.