July 9, 2009
7/9: 77% of NYS Voters Know Someone Who’s Lost Job
In a poll that suggests the vast repercussions of the economic crisis, 77% of New York State registered voters say they personally know someone who has lost their job in the last 6 months.
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More voters in New York City and in the suburbs say they know someone who has lost his/her job during that timeframe. 82% of city voters and 79% of those in the suburbs report this to be the case. This compares with 74% Upstate.
Slight differences are also apparent among income groups. 82% of people with an income of $100,000 or more say they know someone who’s joined the ranks of the unemployed in the last half-year, while 77% of those making between $50,000 and $99,999 and 74% of those making less than $50,000 say the same.
Table: Personally Know Someone Who Lost a Job
Social Networking and Job Loss…Potential Pitfall?
Social networking may be getting a lot of hype, but it hasn’t yet seduced a majority of New York voters. Only 31% say they personally have a profile on a social networking website such as MySpace or Facebook.
Those who do have a profile divide over whether it’s wise for someone to use a social networking site to tell everyone they have lost their job. 49% say they’re more likely to describe someone who does so as “smart,” but 41% say they’re more likely to call that person, “desperate.” 10% are unsure.
Educational background affects one’s stance on this issue. 55% of college graduates say “smart” compared with 41% of those who aren’t college graduates.
Overall, who is more likely to utilize social networking sites? Voters with higher incomes are more likely to join these online networks. 42% of those making $100,000 or more have a profile, compared with 32% of those with incomes between $50,000 and $99,999 and only 27% of those making less than $50,000.
Not surprisingly, younger voters are more likely to jump on the social networking bandwagon. 54% of those under 45 have a profile, while only 19% of those over 45 have one. On the question of whether they’d call a person who announces their unemployment as “smart” or “desperate,” those under 45 divide while a majority of those 45 and older consider it to be a smart move.
And, social networking has taken the 18-to-29 age group by storm: a whopping 74% of those Web users have a profile on MySpace, Facebook and their ilk.
Table: Do You, Personally, Have a Social Networking Profile?
Table: Announcing Unemployment Online
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