RJ and Makay

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Pessimism about investing in the financial markets is running high, according to a recent Gallup Poll commissioned by Wells Fargo bank.  While persistent unemployment, high energy prices and the budget deficit are weighing on the investment attitudes of both workers and retirees, the mood is particularly sour for workers.

The jobs market is continuing its gradual recovery in spite of Middle East turmoil, the disaster in Japan, and layoffs by local governments. Indeed, the economy added a net of 216,000 jobs in March and unemployment fell to a two-year low of 8.8%, the Labor Department reports.

Private employers, the backbone of the economy, drove nearly all the gains by adding 230,000 jobs after a gain of 240,000 in February. This marks the first time since 2006 — more than a year before the recession — that private-sector hiring topped 200,000 in two straight months.