Reason-Rupe: 53 Percent Disapprove of President Obama's Handling of the Economy, 44 Percent Approve

General economic malaise continues to permeate the general electorate despite some positive economic indicators. As political science research would suggest, the incumbent president bares a lot of the blame or praise for the economy. The latest Reason-Rupe poll reaffirms this with 53 percent disapproving of President Obama's handling of the economy.

In terms of general job performance, nearly half approve of President Obama but nearly as many also disapprove.

Congress maintains is steady low level of approval at 15 percent with 78 percent disapproving of Congress.

A majority of women approve of Obama, whereas a majority of men do not. However, when it comes to handling the economy, a majority of both disapprove of President Obama policies.

Americans from the Northeast are the only regional group to have a majority approving of Obama's general job performance and handling of the economy.

A majority of Latinos (55 percent) approves of Obama's job performance; however, a majority (53 percent) disapproves of Obama's handling of the economy.

Similarly a majority of self-identified Independents approves of Obama's job performance, but a majority (54 percent) disapproves of his handling of the economy.

A majority of public sector workers approve of both Obama's job performance (59 percent) and handling of the economy (53 percent). In contrast, private sector workers do not reach the majority threshold of support for Obama in general or on the economy.

Frequent churchgoers disapprove of both Obama's general job performance (53 percent) and handling of the economy (60 percent). In contrast, 58 percent among those who do not attend religious services approve of Obama's job performance, and 54 percent approve of Obama's economic policies.

Full poll results found here, and cross tabs found here.

Nationwide telephone poll conducted March 10th-20th of both mobile and landline phones, 1200 adults, margin of error +/- 3 percent. Columns may not add up to 100 percent due to rounding. Full methodology can be found here. 

Emily Ekins is the director of polling for Reason Foundation where she leads the Reason-Rupe public opinion research project, launched in 2011. Follow her on Twitter @emilyekins.