Poll: Healthcare, deficit, jobs top issues

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PRINCETON, N.J., May 21 (UPI) -- Healthcare, the federal budget deficit and unemployment are the three key economic issues facing the United States today, a Gallup-USA Today poll indicated.

More than 80 percent of Americans ranked each issue as either extremely important or very important among 10 issues surveyed, results of a Gallup-USA Today poll released Monday indicated.

Americans prefer President Obama over presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney for handling healthcare, Romney is favored to handle the deficit and the two tied on unemployment.

At least seven in 10 Americans rated weak economic growth, higher education costs, financial performance of savings or retirement investments and housing- and mortgage-related issues as extremely or very important, results indicated.

Romney led Obama in handling weak economic growth and financial performance of personal investments. Obama had the advantage on college cost issues. The two were roughly tied on handling home values and financing issues.

Obama did well in perceptions of who could better handle the concentration of wealth in the country, but only a slight majority of Americans said they consider the matter a highly important economic issue.

Obama and Romney were close in perception on who would better handle government regulations on private enterprise, but barely half of Americans said they thought the issue was highly important.

Obama held an advantage over Romney in perceptions of who would better address living standards for the poorest people, but the matter was a somewhat lower priority for Americans, the Princeton, N.J., polling agency said.

Results are based on nationwide telephone interviews with 1,012 adults conducted May 10-13. The margin of error is 4 percentage points.