Poll: Unemployment tops U.S. concerns

PRINCETON, N.J., Sept. 16 (UPI) -- Unemployment is the biggest issue facing the United States, a Gallup Poll released Friday indicates.

The September Gallup Poll found 39 percent of Americans consider unemployment or jobs as the most important problem facing the country, up from 29 percent in August.

Gallup said the passage of debt ceiling legislation has eased concerns about the federal budget, while the percentage of people who say the country's top problem is dissatisfaction with government held steady at 14 percent.

The poll results are based on a survey conducted Sept. 8-11 following President Barack Obama's proposed jobs bill to Congress.

The poll, which also asked Americans to say which party they thought would best handle the issue they named as most important, found 44 percent chose the Republican Party and 37 percent chose the Democratic Party.

The September poll included a random sample of 1,017 U.S. adults. The margin of sampling error is plus or minus 4 percentage points.