Arlington, Texas (February 22, 2012)—In the 4th quarter of 2011, 45% of U.S. adults believed that “jobs are scarce,” and that’s an increase from 19% in the 1st quarter of 2007. The plight of the U.S. labor market is all too evident, with over 40% of U.S. adults reporting “jobs are scarce” for the past three years, according to Decision Analyst, a global marketing research and analytical consulting firm.

“The U.S. economy during 2011 was anemic, hovering between slow recovery and a double-dip recession. However, with recent employment numbers there is renewed hope for 2012. A recovery might just be on the horizon,” said Jerry W. Thomas, President/CEO of Decision Analyst. “Recent trends show the percentage of U.S. adults reporting ‘jobs are scarce’ is trending down. The U.S. decline is only marginal, but it is at least moving in the right direction,” said Thomas. “The trends in other major countries are revealing.”

Brazil. Over the course of the past three years, the percentage of adults who believe “jobs are scarce” has steadily declined, while the percentage who believe “jobs are plentiful and easy to find” has steadily increased. The improving labor market is a reflection of Brazil’s economic vitality.

China. The percentage of adults reporting that “jobs are plentiful and easy to find” has been trending higher for the past three years, and the share who report “jobs are scarce” has trended lower.

France. Virtually no one in France believes that “jobs are plentiful and easy to find.” Almost half of adults say that “jobs are scarce.” The French economy faces significant headwinds.

Germany. Germany’s labor market appears to be strengthening. Since the 2nd quarter in 2009 an increasing number of Germans report that “jobs are plentiful and easy to find.”

International Economic Trends: Jobs and Inflation 2007-2011

The data included in the release is from the International Economic Trends: Jobs and Inflation 2007-2011 report. The 15 countries included in the report are: United States, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, France, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Spain, and United Kingdom. You can view the full report on SlideShare at http://slidesha.re/xEAciZ or download it at: Adobe PDF File or PowerPoint File.

The data included in this release is from the Decision Analyst Economic Index Survey. The result is a snapshot of coming economic activity in each country surveyed, as seen through the eyes of representative consumers living in the respective countries. This is a monthly Internet survey of several thousand households balanced by gender, age, and geography. The online survey is conducted in the last 10 days of each month. The data in this report starts from January 2007 and runs through December 2011, except for China, where data collection began in October 2007.

The monthly data is aggregated and reported by quarter in this report, except for the Economic Index, which is reported monthly. The margin of error is less than three percentage points, plus or minus, at a 95% confidence level for most of the percentages.

About Decision Analyst

Decision Analyst (www.decisionanalyst.com) is a global marketing research and analytical consulting firm specializing in strategy research, new product development, advertising testing, and advanced modeling for marketing decision optimization. For over 3 decades, the firm has delivered competitive advantage to clients throughout the world in the consumer-packaged goods, telecommunications, retail, technology, medical, and automotive industries.

For additional information contact:
Cristi Allen
Publicity
Email: callen@decisionanalyst.com
Phone: 1-800-ANALYSIS (262-5974) or 1-817-640-6166
Address: 604 Avenue H East
Arlington, TX 76011

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