Poll: U.S. backs Obama on economy

NEW YORK, April 6 (UPI) -- Americans are more optimistic about the economy now than they were before President Barack Obama was inaugurated, a New York Times/CBS News poll indicated.

The poll found Americans support the president's handling of the economy, as well as of foreign policy, including Iraq and Afghanistan, the Times reported Monday.

There is still some anxiety about the economy, with 70 percent of those surveyed saying they are somewhat or very concerned someone in their household will lose a job during the next 12 months. However, the percentage of Americans who think the country is on the right track has risen to 39 percent from 15 percent in mid-January, while the percentage who say the country is on the wrong track has declined to 53 percent from 79 percent in January.

The percentage of people who think the economy is getting worse has declined to 34 percent from 54 percent in January and the percentage of those who see the economy as getting better has risen from 7 percent to 20 percent.

The poll contains bad news for Republicans, showing that only 31 percent of those surveyed had a favorable view of the GOP -- the lowest favorable rating since the New York Times/CBS News poll started asking the question 25 years ago.

The telephone survey of 998 adults was conducted Wednesday through Sunday and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.