Source:  Press Release, 1/25/11

The “great” recession has not ended in the opinion of 81 percent of North Carolina voters according to a new poll released today by the Civitas Institute.

Eighty-one percent of voters said they disagree with government officials and some economists that the economic recession has officially ended.  Eighteen percent said they agree, and 1 percent said they had no opinion.

“Despite claims from politicians and economists that we are seeing economic recovery in North Carolina, voters do not agree,” said Civitas Institute President Francis De Luca.  “People remain negative about the current economy and about prospects for a recovery.”

All voters, regardless of party registration, have been affected by the economic recession.  Republican (92 percent disagree -8 percent agree) and Democratic voters (77 percent disagree-22 percent agree) both disagree with economists who say the recession has ended.  Unaffiliated voters also disagree with this statement by a 73 percent-23 percent margin.

Of those voters who said the recession has not ended, 61 percent said it will take over 2 years for the economy to improve and the recession to end.  Twenty-five percent of voters said it will take between 1 and 2 years, and 9 percent said recovery will take between 6 months and a year.

“These numbers have gotten worse since we first polled this in April and October 2009.  It is troubling that there is this level of pessimism,” added De Luca.

The Civitas Poll is the only monthly live-caller poll of critical issues facing North Carolina.  For more information on Civitas polling see www.nccivitas.org/media/poll-results/.

Full text of questions:

“According to government officials and some economists the economic recession has officially ended. Do you agree or disagree with that statement?”
Total Agree – 18%
Total Disagree – 81%
Strongly Agree – 5%
Somewhat Agree – 13%
Somewhat Disagree – 21%
Strongly Disagree – 60%
Don’t Know – 1%

“In your own opinion, how much longer do you think it will take for the economy to improve and the recession to end?” (486 respondents answered “disagree” to previous poll question above)
Under 6 months – 1%
Between 6 months and a year – 9%
Between 1 and 2 years – 25%
Over 2 years – 61%
Don’t Know – 4%

Click here for full results and crosstabs.

This poll of 600 registered general election voters in North Carolina was conducted January 19-20 by National Research, Inc. of Holmdel, NJ.  All respondents were part of a fully representative sample of registered voters in North Carolina.  For purposes of this study, voters interviewed had to have voted in two of the past four general elections or were newly registered to vote since 2008.

The confidence interval associated with a sample of this size is such that: 95 percent of the time, results from 600 interviews (registered voters) will be within +-4% of the “True Values.” True Values refer to the results obtained if it were possible to interview every person in North Carolina who had voted in two of the past four general elections or were newly registered to vote since 2008.