Poll: Economic conditions in Pennsylvania reflect national averages according to public

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When it comes to American business Pennsylvanians rate their state near the middle of the pack for 2009.

Another entry in Gallup’s comprehensive “State of the States” series focuses on the economic health according to the people in all areas of the country. The study takes into account five separate categories; economic confidence, job creation, the hiring & letting go of employees and standard of living. The results place the Keystone State around the national average and indicate a mixed bag of ratings for New Jersey and Delaware.

Gallup’s “Economic Confidence Index” is a combined percentage of two questions asked to the American public. First asking them to rate current economic conditions in the country and second to ask them whether they feel those conditions as a whole are getting better or worse. “Job Creation Index” relates to questions on the hiring and letting go of employees from companies. The percentage of Americans who claim their companies are hiring new employees and expanding the size of their work force against those who suggest the opposite. The final category tracks the percentage of those who say they are currently satisfied with their standard of living.

Nationally the Gallup study finds increased economic optimism from 2008 to 2009 and a greater number of American adults are also more satisfied with their standard of living year over year. Pessimism is more apparent on the job front however as significantly fewer companies are hiring and more are laying-off employees according to the public.

The Keystone State is a fairly accurate barometer of those conditions nationally ranking at or near the middle of the pack in all five categories. Nearly 354,000 American adults were surveyed including 21,542 from Pennsylvania alone. The state ranks 23rd in the percentage of those letting their employees go and 25th in the number of companies hiring. Ranking 24th in the country the net difference tracked by Gallup’s “Job Creation Index” is at -0.1% meaning a virtually identical number of Pennsylvanians see themselves and their fellow employees as being hired and fired. Other categories such as the percentage of those who are satisfied with their standard of living (24th) and their view of current economic conditions (30th) also placed around the middle on the list of fifty states and Washington D.C.

Pennsylvania may have been fairly consistent reflecting national numbers from one category to the next but neighbors New Jersey and Delaware were all over the map.

The Garden State ranked a solid nineteenth in economic confidence for 2009 but below average in terms of standard of living (32nd) and in the number of employees being hired. It was also one of the worst states in terms if letting go (7th) and New Jersey’s “Job Creation Index” ranked 42nd worst in the country accordingly. Delaware was similarly irregular. The First State was on par ranking 25th nationally in standard of living and its economic confidence (31st) was only slightly below average. However it was also the fourth worst state in America in terms of job reduction, a sub par 36th in job creation and eight from the bottom of the rankings with its index. Previously Gallup rated Delaware as having the

worst working environment.

All three states surrounding greater Philadelphia made year over year improvements in their economic confidence and standard of living and all three dropped predictably in terms of overall job creation.

The top-five in economic confidence were Washington D.C., South Dakota, Nebraska, Utah and Iowa. The five worst in that category were Wyoming, Michigan, West Virginia, Nevada and Idaho. At 82.3% North Dakota had the highest percentage of citizens satisfied with their current standard of living. This was followed by neighboring South Dakota, Alaska, Minnesota and Iowa rounding out the top-five. The five worst meanwhile were Nevada at just 69% satisfaction followed by Rhode Island, Michigan, Ohio and Georgia. Seven states; North Dakota, Nebraska, West Virginia, Louisiana, Maryland, Alaska and Oklahoma had at least ten-percent more residents being hired than fired according to their public. The bottom-five on that list; Nevada, Michigan, Oregon, Connecticut and California were all in the negatives by nine-percent or worse.

Poll: Castle slightly ahead of Biden in possible Delaware Senate showdown

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As the buildup to the impending 2010 elections continues we take a trip this time to the Pennsylvania’s neighbor to the south, the First State of Delaware.

What Delaware lacks in size and brand name appeal nationally it could more than make up for in political drama. Two high profile candidates stand out in the early stages of the state's Senatorial race next fall. Attorney General Beau Biden, son of sitting Vice President Joe Biden pitted against Republican Mike Castle, a former two-term Governor and the longest serving representative in Delaware history. Both would-be candidates could challenge for the vacant seat left by VP Biden who served 36-years as a Senator from the First State.

For the moment it is Castle leading the younger Biden 47-42% in the hypothetical race according to a recent survey conducted by Rasmussen Reports. The big question at this point however is if in fact the seventy year old Mike Castle would choose to run for a Senate position next fall. Early polling suggests that Castle dominates with men (25-point lead) and struggles somewhat with women (13-point deficit) against Biden. If Castle elects not to run however the dynamic of the race changes considerably.

Christine O’Donnell, the one declared GOP candidate finds herself in a nine-point hole (49-40%) against Biden according to Rasmussen, whereas a number of Delaware voters (8%) remain uncertain about either candidate. O’Donnell will likely need to play better with her own gender to make a race of it as she currently trails Biden by 27-points amongst women.

Regardless of the opposition Biden will surely pull out all stops to secure the Senate seat, perhaps piggybacking off of the national success of his father who helped President Obama to a record landslide victory in Delaware last November. As pointed out in an Associated Press article Beau Biden never the less faces challenges stemming from agency missteps that led to the dropped charges against a man accused of killing a local college student. He also finds a PR hurdle to overcome in the drawn out and unsuccessful legal battle against NCAA and professional sports leagues over Delaware’s new betting lottery.

Last November Joe Biden crushed Christine O’Donnell securing 65% of the popular as he was campaigning for Vice President. Ted Kauffman a longtime Biden aide was appointed by then Governor Ruth Ann Minner for an interum stay of two-years as Senator. Kauffman has publicly stated that he will not seek the office after his term ends in January of 2011. This means a special election is to be held in November of next year to decide who will take over for the last four-years of Biden’s term.

Beau Biden who just finished a year-long deployment to Iraq for National Guard duty technically has not declared his candidacy for the Senate seat. Wide speculation and assumption surround the Attorney General however who currently holds a 26-12% favorable to unfavorable rating amongst Delaware voters. Castle’s positive margin is a slightly more modest 25-15% with O’Donnell, a marketing consultant and political commentator, lingering behind both at a 14-15% split.

Some other polling conducted by Rasmussen shows that Delaware residents are almost evenly split on the issue of health care reform. 48% are in favor of the Democratic plan with 49% opposed. Just 8% rate the U.S. economy as good or excellent with 44% considering it poor. Another 31% think the national economy is improving while 42% see it as getting worse. These negative feelings are not reflected in President Obama’s individual approving rating or Jack Markell’s job performance as Governor however. Obama holds a 54% approval rating with 45% disapproving of his performance as President. Markell meanwhile is viewed positively overall by those in the First State to the tune of a 59-37% approval to disapproval split.