These poll numbers were released earlier today by Rasmussen Reports -- "an electronic publishing firm specializing in the collection, publication, and distribution of public opinion polling information."
Democrats & Unaffiliateds More Likely To Be Unemployed Than Republicans
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Data from Rasmussen Reports national telephone surveys shows that 15.0% of Democrats in the workforce are currently unemployed and looking for a job. Among adults not affiliated with either major party, that number is 15.6% while just 9.9% of Republicans are in the same situation.
These findings are from interviews with 15,000 American adults in October. The numbers show an increase in all categories from earlier in the year.
The percentage of unemployed Democrats has grown less than a point from 14.2% in February.
Among those not affiliated with either major party, unemployment has grown by more than two percentage points from 13.3% in February to 15.6% now.
As for Republicans, the percentage unemployed has also grown more than two points after starting at just 7.8% in February.
The numbers are not directly comparable to the official unemployment statistics and are not seasonally adjusted. However, the trend is clear. In February, unemployment stood at 11.8% and that grew to 13.5% in October.
It's interesting to note a shift in the composition of the workforce. In February, 45.6% of workers were working for another company in the private sector while 21.9% were self-employed or had their own company. Since then, the number working for someone else has dropped three points to 42.4% while the number of entrepreneurs has jumped three points to 24.6%.
A different way of looking at the overall data is to compare the percentage of working adults. This factors in people who are retired or out of the workforce for some other reason. In February, 58.3% of Americans were working. That fell to 56.5% in October.
The Rasmussen Employment Index has shown that 15% of workers say their organizations are hiring. That number has held steady for eight straight months. Nearly twice as many report lay-offs where they work.