If it's in the News, it's in our Polls. Public opinion polling since 2003.

BUSINESS

66% Believe Government Workers Have More Job Security than Private Sector Workers

Most Americans still believe government workers have more job security than those in the private sector.

A new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey of American Adults shows that 66% believe government workers have more job security than workers in the private sector. Only 12% believe government employees have less job security than private sector workers while 16% it’s all about the same level. (To see survey question wording, click here.) 

Only 13% of Americans believe government employees work harder than private sector workers. Sixty-six percent (66%) say private employees work harder, but 21% more are not sure. Those numbers are more in line with those found last year.

The 66% who believe public sector workers have more job security is down from 73% in October and 77% in late April of last year. In December 2009, 74% felt this way. 

A majority of government workers (52%) believe they have more job security than private sector workers, a sentiment shared by 64% of private sector workers.

(Want a free daily e-mail update? If it's in the news, it's in our polls).  Rasmussen Reports updates are also available on Twitter or Facebook.

The survey of 1,000 Adults was conducted on February 25-26, 2011 by Rasmussen Reports. The margin of sampling error is +/- 3 percentage points with a 95% level of confidence. Field work for all Rasmussen Reports surveys is conducted by Pulse Opinion Research, LLC. See methodology.

Want to read more?

Become a Rasmussen Reader to read the article

Have an account?

Log In

Become a Reader

Subscribe

Rasmussen Reports is a media company specializing in the collection, publication and distribution of public opinion information.

We conduct public opinion polls on a variety of topics to inform our audience on events in the news and other topics of interest. To ensure editorial control and independence, we pay for the polls ourselves and generate revenue through the sale of subscriptions, sponsorships, and advertising. Nightly polling on politics, business and lifestyle topics provides the content to update the Rasmussen Reports web site many times each day. If it's in the news, it's in our polls. Additionally, the data drives a daily update newsletter and various media outlets across the country.

Some information, including the Rasmussen Reports daily Presidential Tracking Poll and commentaries are available for free to the general public. Subscriptions are available for $4.95 a month or 34.95 a year that provide subscribers with exclusive access to more than 20 stories per week on upcoming elections, consumer confidence, and issues that affect us all. For those who are really into the numbers, Platinum Members can review demographic crosstabs and a full history of our data.

To learn more about our methodology, click here.