Gallup, March 2011 Unemployment 10%, overall view 'substantially less optimistic' than federal government reports

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3/31/11, "Gallup Finds U.S. Unemployment Rate at 10.0% in March," "Underemployment falls to 19.3% from 19.9% at the end of February"

"Unemployment, as measured by Gallup without seasonal adjustment, was 10.0% in March -- down from 10.2% in mid-March and 10.3% at the end of February, but above the 9.8% at the end of January. U.S. unemployment was 10.4% at the end of March a year ago....

Contrary to the federal government's recent job reports, Gallup's unemployment and underemployment measures suggest that recent job increases have not been sufficient to significantly improve the jobs situation so far in 2011. Although both of Gallup's measures were marginally better in March,

• they remain higher now than they were in January....

Despite the March uptick, Gallup's view of the U.S. jobs situation remains substantially less optimistic than the government's recent unemployment report might suggest. Added to this, late March Gallup Daily tracking results show a

• continuing decline in economic optimism,
  

• a pullback in consumer spending,
  

• and a drop in Gallup's Job Creation Index.
  

This suggests that recent behavior on Main Street does not reflect the government's rosier assessment. It also implies that the recent marginal improvement Gallup finds may be

• more temporary than one might hope."

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