RALEIGH, N.C. – Attitudes among North Carolina voters remain bleak concerning the economy as most say it will take at least two years or more for the recession to end.
 
Eighty-six percent of voters think recovery is more than one year away while 62 percent said they think it will take over two years for the economy to improve and the current recession to end. Twenty-four percent said they think it will take between one and two years, while just one percent said the recession has ended.
 
This percentage is close to a January 2011 Civitas poll when 61 percent of voters said it would be over two years before the economy recovers, and also surpasses a May 2011 poll (60 percent said more than two years).
 
“This is just more evidence that voters have never accepted the announcement the recession was over and we were in recovery,” said Civitas Institute President Francis De Luca. “If the economy worsens it could be bad news for any politicians that voters decide are to blame.”
 
Despite satisfactory ratings for her handling of the Hurricane Irene disaster, Gov. Bev Perdue’s job approval rating is at its lowest percentage among North Carolina voters in nearly two years.
 
Forty-two percent of North Carolina voters said they approve of the job Bev Perdue is doing as governor. Forty-eight percent said they disapprove and 10 percent said they do not know or are undecided.
 
This is the lowest job approval rating for Perdue since an October 2009 Civitas poll when 42 percent of voters approved of the job she was doing as governor while 49 percent disapproved.
 
“Voters are not happy and elected officials, especially Governor Perdue, are seeing that displeasure in approval ratings that are reaching all time lows,” De Luca said.
 
Looking at party registration, Republicans continue to disapprove of the job Perdue is doing as governor (19 percent approve to 72 percent disapprove). Since May, her job approval rating dropped 10 percent among unaffiliated voters to 38 percent approve to 48 percent disapproving. Meanwhile, Democratic voters view the job she is doing in an overall favorable light by a 61 percent to 30 percent margin.
 
Voters on the whole approve of the job Perdue did in the Hurricane Irene aftermath (66 percent approve to 14 percent disapprove).
 
“Despite voters’ general approval of the governor’s response to Hurricane Irene, they are still not happy with Perdue when considering her overall performance,” added De Luca.