Popularity is no protection against budget cuts: The parts of government that Americans like the most — state, cities and counties, and the U.S. Postal Service — are also the ones shedding workers the fastest.

The most recent nonfarm payroll figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show that the public sector continues to be a drag on overall employment. Governments at all levels have shed 835,300 jobs since public-sector employment peaked in April 2009 (not counting the spike in early 2010 caused by temporary Census workers). The private sector, meanwhile, has regained 6.78 million jobs since bottoming out in February 2010, and over the past year has averaged 180,500 new jobs a month.

But the government-sector job cuts haven’t been spread evenly. In terms of sheer numbers, local schools have lost the most: 336,300 jobs over the past four years. Other local government cutbacks have eliminated 217,600 jobs; states (except for public colleges and universities) are down 160,300 jobs.

In a Pew Research Center survey conducted in March, 63% of people said they had a favorable opinion of their local government, a level that’s stayed fairly constant over several years; 57% expressed favorable views of their state government, a five-point uptick from last year. But  just 28% rated the federal government favorably, versus 65% unfavorably; the favorability rating was five points lower than a year earlier and the lowest ever in a Pew Research Center survey.

Notwithstanding the dim view most people take of the federal government, and despite the wide-ranging budget cuts known as “sequestration,” most of the federal payroll remains intact. Leaving aside one big exception, there were 20,000 fewer federal employees last month than there were four years earlier, a decline of less than 1%.

The exception is the long-suffering Postal Service, where employment is down by 132,300 jobs, or 18.3%, since April 2009. The Postal Service has been shedding workers for years, though the pace picked up during the recession; it accounts for 15.8% of all government job cuts since April 2009, even though it employed only 3.2% of the total government workforce.

Even so, the Postal Service is one of the better-regarded arms of the federal government. In a 2010 Pew Research survey, 83% of people said they had a favorable opinion of the Postal Service, the highest level among the 13 agencies asked about. More recently, 60% of respondents in an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll said they had “very” (28%) or “somewhat” (32%) positive feelings toward the Postal Service — more than President Obama, either major party, the Catholic Church or the NRA.

The one government sector that’s actually added jobs has been state education, which is up 31,200 jobs (or 1.3%) since April 2009. Although many state legislatures have reduced funding for public colleges and universities over that time, tuition bills have risen sharply to compensate.

Drew DeSilver is a senior writer at the Pew Research Center.

The favorable rating for the federal government has fallen to just 33%; while nearly twice as many (62%) have an unfavorable view, according to the latest survey by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, conducted April 4-15. By contrast, ratings of state governments remain in positive territory, with 52% offering a favorable and 42% and unfavorable opinion of their state government. Local governments are viewed positively by roughly a two-to-one margin.

Ten years ago, roughly two thirds of Americans offered favorable assessments of all three levels of government: federal, state and local.

Read the full report for more findings on ratings of governments, including:

• Partisan breakdowns on views toward the federal, state and local governments
• Ratings of federal and state governments on specific areas of performance

In its Topic A feature for Sunday March 6, 2011, the Washington Post asked several experts who’s winning and who’s losing in the fight over public-employee unions. Here is Scott Keeter’s reply.

Public attitudes about labor unions have been largely stable since the start of the battles in Wisconsin and other states. A Pew Research poll last week found favorable opinions of unions outnumbering unfavorable opinions by a 47%-to-39% margin, essentially unchanged from a poll conducted in early February. But the battles have energized union households and liberal Democrats. Among both groups, very favorable attitudes about unions jumped sharply in the past few weeks.

Most polls have found majorities opposed to recent efforts to limit or eliminate collective bargaining rights for public employees. A late February Pew Research poll about the Wisconsin dispute found 42% siding more with the public-employee unions than with the governor (31%). Despite recent Republican criticism of public-sector unions, Pew Research’s polling has found little difference in opinions about public-sector vs. private-sector unions.

Attitudes about all of the parties involved in labor disputes — governments, labor unions and businesses — are significantly more negative today than they were a decade ago. But half or more of the public believes that labor unions have had a positive impact on conditions for all American workers, and only a minority believes that union agreements give union workers unfair advantages. Still, the public has mixed views of the impact of unions on workplace productivity, the global competitiveness of U.S. companies and the availability of good jobs in the country.

See other responses to the Washington Post‘s Topic A query by Mike Lux, Dan Schnur, Ed Rogers, Howard Dean and David Bonior by reading the full article at washingtonpost.com.

By a modest margin, more say they back Wisconsin’s public employee unions rather than the state’s governor in their continuing dispute over collective bargaining rights.

Roughly four-in-ten (42%) say they side more with the public employee unions, while 31% say they side more with the governor, Scott Walker, according to the latest Pew Research Center survey, conducted Feb. 24-27 among 1,009 adults.

In Washington, meanwhile, prospects for an imminent government shutdown decreased as Republicans and Democrats neared a short-term budget deal.

However, the public is divided over who would be more to blame if the federal government were to shut down as a result of a budget impasse: 36% say Republicans would be more to blame, 35% say the Obama administration and 17% volunteer that both would be to blame. This question was asked jointly by the Pew Research and The Washington Post.

Opinions are notably different today than they were the last time a budget battle threatened a government shutdown. In November 1995, a Washington Post/ABC News survey asked a similar question and found that 46% said a possible government shutdown would be mainly the Republicans’ fault; just 27% said the bulk of the blame would fall on the Clinton administration.

The differences in opinions between now and then may well be more linked to changes in views of the GOP House speaker rather than the Democratic president. Obama’s current approval rating of 49% is about the same as Bill Clinton’s in October 1995 (48%).

But the current House speaker, John Boehner, is viewed far less negatively than Newt Gingrich was in 1995. In December 2010, 28% expressed a favorable opinion of Boehner while 25% had an unfavorable view. In August 1995, a few months before the budget impasse, 30% had a favorable view of Gingrich while 54% had an unfavorable opinion.

Democrats, Young, Less Affluent Side Strongly With Unions

Democrats overwhelmingly side with the government employee unions in the ongoing dispute in Wisconsin. Two- thirds (67%) say this, compared with just 12% who say they side more with the governor. About half of Republicans (53%) say they side more with Gov. Walker; 17% say they side more with the public employee unions. Independents are evenly divided (39% side more with the unions, 34% more with the governor).

Among those ages 18 to 29, nearly half (46%) say they side more with the public employee unions, while 13% say they side with the governor. Among those ages 65 and older, the balance is reversed — but the gap more narrow (45% say they side more with the governor, 33% with the unions).

While whites are nearly evenly divided (38% unions, 36% governor), non-white people are much more likely to say they side more with the unions that represent public employee workers (51% vs. 19%).

And while those with household incomes of $75,000 or more are divided (36% side more with the unions, 40% with the governor), those earning less clearly side more with the government employee unions. Among those with family income of less than $30,000, 46% say they side more with the unions, while 20% say they side more with the governor.

Partisan Divide on Potential Blame for Federal Shutdown

Looking at the possibility of a federal government shutdown if Republicans and the Obama administration cannot agree on a budget, partisans on both sides would put the bulk of the blame on the opposing party.

About seven-in-ten Republicans (69%) say the administration would be most to blame. Just 8% would blame their own party’s leaders. More than six-in-ten Democrats (63%) say congressional Republicans would be most responsible for any shutdown, while 11% say the administration would be most to blame. Independents are divided: 32% say Republicans and 37% say the administration would be mostly to blame. Among all three groups, 17% say both would share the blame equally.

In November 1995, just days before a standoff between congressional Republicans and the Clinton administration led to a partial government shutdown, most Democrats (71%) said Republicans would be responsible for any shutdown, while a smaller majority of Republicans (57%) put the blame on Clinton. Unlike today, many more independents said they would blame the Republicans (46%) than the Clinton administration (24%).

In early January 1996, with the government in a partial shutdown, the public continued to put more blame on the Republicans, according to a second Washington Post/ABC News survey. At that point, a plurality (44%) said the GOP was mainly to blame for the shutdown, while 25% said the Clinton administration was mainly to blame and 24% blamed both sides.

View the topline questionnaire and survey methodology at people-press.org.

Overview

The public’s views about federal spending are beginning to change. Across a range of federal programs, Americans are no longer calling for increased spending, as they have for many years. For the most part, however, there is not a great deal of support for cutting spending, though in a few cases support for reductions has grown noticeably. The survey also shows that the public is reluctant to cut spending — or raise taxes — to balance state budgets.

Since June 2009, there have been double-digit declines in the proportions favoring increased federal spending for health care (by 20 percentage points), government assistance for the unemployed (17 points), Medicare (13 points) and veterans’ benefits and services (12 points). Fewer Americans also favor increased spending on military defense (down nine points) and environmental protection (seven points).

In two areas in particular — aid for the unemployed and national defense — the public’s attitudes toward federal spending have changed dramatically. Currently, as many favor decreasing spending as increasing spending for assistance to the unemployed and national defense. In 2009, far more supported funding increases than decreases for these programs.

Despite these changing views, however, majorities or pluralities favor increased spending in five of 18 areas. Fully 62% favor increased funding for education — the highest percentage for any program tested and little changed from 2009 (67%). In all, there is only one area — economic assistance to needy people around the world — for which a plurality favors cutting federal spending.

The latest national survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, conducted Feb. 2-7 among 1,385 adults, finds that President Obama’s overall job rating has ticked up: 49% approve of Obama’s job performance while 42% disapprove. From September through January, roughly as many approved as disapproved of Obama’s job performance.

Most Americans (56%) say President Obama could be doing more to improve economic conditions while 39% say he is doing as much as he can. A year ago, somewhat fewer (50%) said Obama could be doing more on the economy and in March 2009, just 30% expressed this view.

Still, views of former President Bush’s efforts to improve the economy at a comparable stage in his presidency were slightly more negative than they are for Obama today, though the economy was in much better shape. In January 2003, 61% said Bush could be doing more to improve economic conditions while 33% said he was doing all he could.

The survey finds somewhat more positive — or at least, less negative — views of the nation’s economy. Only about one-in-ten (12%) says economic conditions are excellent or good, a figure that has changed little over the past three years, but the proportion saying the economy is “poor” has edged lower. Currently 42% rate economic conditions as poor, which is virtually unchanged from December (45%), but down nine points from October (54%).

A plurality (42%) continues to say it will be a long time before the economy recovers, but that is 10 points lower than in September. The percentage saying the economy is recovering has more than doubled — from 10% to 24% — over this period.

Yet there has been no improvement in people’s assessments of their own finances. And while economists say that the recession has ended, more than a third (36%) say that the recession had a major effect on their finances and they have yet to recover.

Jobs remain the public’s dominant economic concern, but a new threat has emerged. The proportion citing rising prices as the national economic issue that most worries them has risen from 15% in December to 23% currently. Over the same period, the proportion citing the deficit as the most worrisome economic problem is flat (19% in December, 19% today).

As state budget problems worsen, most say that the states themselves should be responsible for addressing these problems, without the help of the federal government. Six-in-ten (60%) say the states should deal with budget shortfalls by raising taxes or cutting services, while just 27% favor the federal government giving more money to the states. These opinions are virtually unchanged from last June.

But there continues to be far more opposition than support for nearly all specific proposals to balance state budgets. Large majorities say their state should not decrease funding for primary and secondary education, health services, higher education and road maintenance and public transportation. Most also oppose raising personal income and sales taxes, as well as taxes on business as ways to balance their state’s budget.

There is greater willingness to decrease funding for the pension plans of government employees. Even so, as many oppose this option as support it as a way to balance their state’s budget (47% each).

The survey finds little change in opinions about both political parties over the past few months. Currently, 47% have a favorable impression of the Democratic Party while 46% express an unfavorable view. For the GOP, 43% have a favorable opinion and slightly more (48%) have an unfavorable view.

The shift in the balance of power on Capitol Hill has not changed the public’s view about the level of discord between the president and Congress. Fully 65% say Obama and GOP leaders are not working together on the important issues facing the country; an almost identical percentage (67%) expressed this view at the beginning of last year. As was the case a year ago, far more of those who say the two sides are not working together blame Republican leaders (31%) than the president (19%).

Continue reading the full report, including a closer look at Obama’s approval ratings, views of national economic conditions, the deficit and government spending, state budgets and the topline questionnaire and survey methodology at people-press.org.

Most Americans see the deteriorating budget situations in many states as a problem that the states themselves – rather than the federal government — should solve. But when it comes to specific proposals to balance state budgets, there is more opposition than support for each option asked about — particularly cuts in funding for education and public safety programs.

The latest Pew Research/National Journal Congressional Connection Poll, sponsored by SHRM, which was conducted June 24-27 among 1,001 adults, finds that just 26% support the federal government giving money to states to help them meet their budgets if this were to mean higher federal budget deficits. Most Americans (58%) say the states should fix their own budget problems by raising taxes or cutting services. These opinions are little changed from 2003.

But when asked about possible ways of balancing their state’s budget, large majorities oppose cutting public primary and secondary education funding (73%) and funding for police, fire and other public safety programs (71%). Nearly as many (65%) oppose cutting health care services provided by the state or local government.

Raising taxes also is generally rejected as a way to balance their state’s budget; 58% oppose that option. And while there is more support for cuts in funding to maintain roads and transportation systems than for the other options, slightly more oppose (50%) than favor (43%) reducing transportation funding.

Little Support for Austerity

There is a decided lack of enthusiasm across the political spectrum for proposals to balance state budgets. Still, Republicans are more supportive than Democrats of cuts in health services and education funding, while Democrats are more supportive of raising taxes than are Republicans.

About four-in-ten (39%) Republicans favor cutting health services to balance their state’s budget compared with 31% of independents and just 17% of Democrats. The differences are nearly as large for cuts in funding for public education, though there is little support among any group for this option. By comparison, 46% of Democrats and 40% of independents favor raising taxes as a way to balance their state’s budget; 32% of Republicans favor this step.

 
Public Wants States to Balance Books, Somehow

While the public has a tepid reaction to various ways of balancing state budgets, most Americans see this as a responsibility of state governments and oppose the federal government giving more money to the states.

Nearly three-quarters of Republicans (73%) and 60% of independents say states should balance their budgets on their own, either by raising taxes or cutting state services. Democrats are more divided, but nearly half (48%) say the states should balance their own budgets without federal help while 36% say the federal government should provide more help to the states even if it means higher federal deficits.

Job Ratings, Views of Government

The public’s views of the job performance of Barack Obama and Congress have shown very little change since March. Currently, 40% say Obama is doing an excellent (13%) or good (27%) job, while 56% say he is doing only fair (29%) or poor (27%). This is consistent with the stability of Obama’s overall job approval ratings in recent months (see “Obama’s Ratings Little Affected by Recent Turmoil,” June 24, 2010.)

Similarly, opinions about Congress’s performance remain virtually unchanged from May or March. Just 13% now say that Congress is doing an excellent (2%) or good (11%) job, while 80% say Congress is doing only fair (37%) or poor (43%).

Just 10% of Americans say they have a lot of confidence that the federal government will make a lot of progress over the next year on the most important problems facing the country; 32% have some confidence. Most (55%) say they have not much confidence (32%) or no confidence at all (23%) in the government to make a lot of progress. That measure also is virtually unchanged from May.

Find the topline questionnare and survey methodology at people-press.org.

The public broadly supports a new Arizona law aimed at dealing with illegal immigration and the law’s provisions giving police increased powers to stop and detain people who are suspected of being in the country illegally.

Fully 73% say they approve of requiring people to produce documents verifying their legal status if police ask for them. Two-thirds (67%) approve of allowing police to detain anyone who cannot verify their legal status, while 62% approve of allowing police to question people they think may be in the country illegally.

After being asked about the law’s provisions, 59% say that, considering everything, they approve of Arizona’s new illegal immigration law while 32% disapprove.

The latest national survey by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, conducted May 6-9 among 994 adults, finds that Democrats are evenly split over Arizona’s new immigration law: 45% approve of the law and 46% disapprove. However, majorities of Democrats approve of two of the law’s principal provisions: requiring people to produce documents verifying legal status (65%) and allowing police to detain them if they are unable to verify their legal status (55%).

Republicans overwhelmingly approve of the law and three provisions tested. Similarly, among independents there is little difference in opinions of the new Arizona law (64% approve) and its elements, which are viewed positively.

Young people are less supportive of the Arizona immigration law than are older Americans. Fewer than half (45%) of those younger than age 30 approve of the new law while 47% disapprove. Majorities of older age groups — including 74% of those ages 65 and older — approve of the law.

However, even most young people approve of requiring people to produce documents verifying their legal status; 61% approve of this element of the law while 35% disapprove. Larger percentages of older age groups support this provision.

Most Disapprove of Obama on Immigration

As has been the case since last fall, the public is highly critical of Barack Obama’s handling of immigration policy. Just 25% approve of the way Obama is handling the issue, while more than twice as many (54%) disapprove. That is little changed from last month (29% approve) and down slightly from last November (31%).

In the current survey, 76% of Republicans disapprove of Obama’s handling of immigration policy, while just 8% approve. Independents disapprove of Obama’s job on the issue by more than two-to-one (57% to 25%). Even among Democrats, as many disapprove (38%) as approve (37%) of the way he is handling the issue, while a quarter (25%) offer no opinion.

View the topline and survey methodology at people-press.org.