Poll finds uneasiness over jobs
Wisconsin residents like homes, schools, but see work prospects as cloudy
Source: Michele Derus, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

MILWAUKEE, WI — August 26, 2003 — Wisconsin is a nice place to live, but you wouldn't want to work here, a poll released Monday suggests. Most of the 600 residents polled are pleased with their homes, schools, public services and parks. But at work, they see damage from the nation's economic downturn.  In a survey commissioned by the Wisconsin Realtors Association and conducted by Wood Communications Group, telephone pollsters interviewed state residents 18 and older.

 

	•	52% said the economy has affected their employers for the worse, and 35% expect more degeneration in the next six months.
	•	Only 58% are satisfied with their pay.
	•	Most consider job opportunities right now to be fair to poor for everybody. The worst outlooks were for recent high school grads (73% didn't think they had much of a shot), and 40-something skilled workers on layoff (81% saw them as staying jobless).
	•	Most consider job opportunities right now to be fair to poor for everybody. The worst outlooks were for recent high school grads (73% didn't think they had much of a shot), and 40-something skilled workers on layoff (81% saw them as staying jobless).
	•	Only one in two rated their own job opportunities as good, and 31% expressed a bright job outlook for their children.

"These people are worried. They can feel that things are tightening up," said Jim Wood, president and chief executive officer of Wood Communications Group.

The poll, which has a margin of error of plus or minus four percentage points, was conducted in late July. Economic indicators have risen steadily in recent months, but unemployment is not subsiding. July's rate was 5.6% in Wisconsin and 6.2% nationally.

People's gloom about work was startling, given how upbeat they were about life in general, he said. "They like living here. They are strongly, deeply rooted and have a sense of service to their community," Wood said.

The survey showed:
 

	•	79% are happy with their house or apartment, and 74% applaud their community's direction.
	•	49% feel their lives will improve in the next year; 31% foresee steadiness.
	•	77% are satisfied with local school quality and 67% praised their public safety personnel.

On one issue, they were equally divided -- how to deal with Wisconsin's budget crunch. One group of 38% advocated tax increases to maintain services, while another group of 38% urged service cuts to avoid property tax increases. The rest either favored neither option or didn't take a stand.

The poll is the first in a series that the Wisconsin Realtors Association, which represents 13,000 realty agents, will commission every four months for at least three years, said association President William Malkasian. The venture is part of the trade group's new direction: public policy advocacy on homeowners' behalf.