Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
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Summary of Findings Americans are divided over whether Harriet Miers should be confirmed to the Supreme Court. Based on what they have heard so far, a third say they favor Miers’ confirmation, while 27% are opposed; four-in-ten express no opinion. In mid-September, about two months after John Roberts had been nominated to the court, the […]
The industries into which migrants are hired in the U.S. are mostly familiar ones to them, but local demand plays a role as well in determining where they find work. Two-thirds of employed respondents can be found in only four industries—agriculture, construction, manufacturing and hospitality. This degree of concentration does not vary much by the […]
Introduction and Summary Preoccupied with war abroad and growing problems at home, U.S. opinion leaders and the general public are taking a decidedly cautious view of America’s place in the world. Over the past four years, opinion leaders have become less supportive of the United States playing a “first among equals” role among the world’s […]
The number of immigrants living in the United States has been increasing steadily since 1970 as measured by the size of the foreign-born population in decennial censuses. Fueled primarily by immigration from Latin America—especially Mexico—and Asia, the foreign-born population grew from 9.6 million in 1970 to 19.8 million in 1990. In the last decade of […]
Summary of Findings Americans express increasingly negative views of a wide range major institutions, reflecting strong discontent with national conditions. Over the past year, ratings have tumbled for the federal government and Congress. And it is not just Washington institutions that are being viewed less positively. Favorable opinions of business corporations are at their lowest […]
Summary of Findings A summer’s worth of bad news, culminating with Hurricane Katrina, has taken a toll on the public’s mood, particularly when it comes to views of the economy and energy costs. The public’s economic expectations, while hardly robust in the spring, have grown much more negative. Nearly four-in-ten (37%) think economic conditions will […]
As the Hurricane Katrina recovery effort unfolds along the Gulf Coast, there has been considerable speculation about the disaster’s possible impact on fundamental public attitudes on such questions as the role of government, the plight of the poor and the extent of racial progress in the U.S. On the left, some have expressed the hope […]
This section assesses changes in first-time, full-time freshman enrollment in seven states with large Hispanic populations: California, New York, Arizona, New Jersey, Florida, Texas and Illinois. Hispanic first-time, full-time enrollment in these seven states accounts for nearly 80 percent of the U.S. total. In 2001, these seven states accounted for nearly 150,000 of the 190,000 […]
Two-thirds of American adults go online and one-third do not. As of May-June 2005, 68% of American adults, or about 137 million people, use the internet, up from 63% one year ago. Thirty-two percent of American adults, or about 65 million people, do not go online.[1. Prior to our January 2005 survey, the question used […]
Summary of Findings With hearings on the nomination of John Roberts beginning today in Washington, a growing number of Americans say that Roberts should be confirmed as chief justice. In polling conducted over the weekend by the Pew Research Center, 46% expressed support for Roberts’s confirmation, up from 35% in a poll conducted last week. […]