After being knocked out of first place last month for the first time in nearly two years, the economy is back as the issue voters view as most important.

The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey shows that 85% of voters consider the issue of the economy as very important, topping a list of 10 key electoral issues regularly tracked by Rasmussen Reports.

Last month for the first time since October 2007 voters rated government ethics and corruption as more important than the economy. Voters viewed the two issues evenly in November and December 2007 before placing a higher priority on the economy starting in January 2008.

Now ethics and corruption has fallen back to second place, with 76% of voters viewing it as very important. The change may have been spurred by the release of a new government report showing the country’s unemployment rate at 10.2 percent, the highest level in 26 years.

Republicans and voters not affiliated with either major political party put more emphasis on government ethics and corruption than Democrats do.

(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.

Health care is in third place this month, with 66% of voters saying it is a very important issue. That’s a seven-point drop from a month ago, when heath care as an issue hit its highest level of importance in over two years.

Among the priorities listed by President Barack Obama earlier this year, reducing the federal deficit is the number one budget priority for President Obama, but Democrats put health care reform first.

Democratic leaders are celebrating the House’s passage last week of a health care reform bill, and the Senate is now scheduled to begin debate on the measure in the next few days. But 52% still oppose the health care plan proposed by the president and congressional Democrats, while 45% are in favor of it.

On the top three issues, Republicans are now trusted more than Democrats. That’s one reason they lead in the Generic Congressional Ballot. However, when it comes to government ethics and corruption, most unaffiliated voters don’t trust either major party.

Sixty-five percent (65%) of voters now rate national security and the War on Terror as very important. This comes as voter confidence in America’s conduct of the War on Terror has fallen to its lowest level since the first week of January in 2007. Voters are also much less optimistic about the course of the war in Iraq.

Sixty percent (60%) of voters say last week's shootings at Fort Hood should be investigated by military authorities as a terrorist act.

Education is viewed as Very Important by 61%, taxes by 60%, Social Security by 53%, immigration by 47% and the war in Iraq by 47%. For immigration, that’s the lowest finding in nearly a year. Forty-two percent (42%) say abortion is a very important issue, even as it threatens to derail the health care plan now before Congress.

Please sign up for the Rasmussen Reports daily e-mail update (it’s free) or follow us on Twitter or Facebook. Let us keep you up to date with the latest public opinion news.

See survey questions and toplines. Crosstabs for Importance of Issues I and Importance of Issues II are available to Premium Members only.