% of Americans who say 100% Jobs are difficult to find
Americans may not be raging optimists when it comes to finding work — perhaps “skeptical realists” is closer to the mark — but their self-assessment of the job market tracks pretty closely with official unemployment statistics.
The nation’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to 5.9% in September, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics figures out today. That represents a drop of 4.1 percentage points from the high of 10% recorded in October 2009 — although, as we’ve discussed before, some of that decline comes not from more people finding work but from more people dropping out of the labor force.
Job Situation: Perception and Reality  | % of Americans who say  | 100%  | 80  | Jobs are difficult to find  | 60  | Aug 14: 58%  | 44  | 40 42  | Aug '14: 33%  | 40 42  | 20  | Plenty of jobs available  | '08  | '10  | 112  | '02  | '04  | 'O6  | 114  | Unemployment and job openings  | 12%  | Unemployment rate,  | 10  | seasonally adjusted  | 8  | 6  | Sept. '14: 5.9%  | 4.5  | Jul. '14: 3.3%  | a 3.1  | 2  | Job openings rate  | '02  | '04  | '06  | '08  | 10  | '12  | 14  | Sources: Pew Research Center, "Views of Job Market  | Tick Q35F1; Up, No Rise in Economic Optimism," Sept. 4. 2014  | Q35F1; Up, Bureau of Labor Statistics Optimism,"  | PEW RESEARCH CENTER 