RJ and Makay

Saving the environment is important to Americans, but not at the expense of jobs and the economy, suggests a recent Gallup poll. In fact, Americans are picking the economy over the environment by the widest margin in nearly three decades, the poll shows.

Of the approximately 1,000 U.S. adults surveyed, 54% said economic growth trumps protecting the environment compared with 36% who thought the environment should take priority. Those percentages were reversed for the past several decades, but Americans began to change their tune after the Great Recession set in.

When Gallup pollsters recently asked 1,000 Americans to name the biggest problem facing the country, 35% said "unemployment," making joblessness their number one concern for the second straight month. It's also the highest percentage of Americans to give that response in more than a quarter century, since October of 1983.

By contrast, the economy in general ranked second, with 29% of those polled saying it was the most important problem facing the country. Healthcare was third and dissatisfaction with the government, fourth.

Underemployment—the measure of those either unemployed or working part-time but wanting full-time work—remained unchanged since the end of June at 18.3%, according to the latest Gallup poll.  The slight decline in part-time workers seeking full-time employment (from 9.5% to 9.2%) was offset by a slight uptick in unemployment from 8.9% to 9.1%.

The Gallup survey is based on more than 15,000 phone interviews with U.S. adult’s ages 18 years and older who were currently employed. Gallup also deduced the percentage of employees working part-time but wanting full-time work declined slightly in mid-August from 9.5% to 9.2%. Among subgroups in the U.S. workforce Gallup finds: