A new nationwide survey conducted still shows fully three-quarters (75%) of heterosexual adults and 64% of LGBT adults rate the job market in their region of the country as either “very bad” or “somewhat bad.” However, one in four (27%) of LGBT adults, believe the job market will start to improve within the next six months, compared with just 12% of heterosexual adults.
LGBT adults were also more hopeful about the overall economy. One-fifth (21%) of LGBT adults believe the economy will start growing again within the next six months, compared with just 10% of heterosexual adults.
The survey of 2,509 U.S. adults, (ages 18 and over), of whom 336 self identified as lesbian, gay, bisexual and/or transgender, was conducted online between March 1 and 8, 2010, by Harris Interactive, a global market research and consulting firm, in conjunction with Witeck-Combs Communications, Inc., a strategic public relations and marketing communications firm with special expertise in the LGBT market. Note that this survey also was conducted before Congress voted in support of national health care reform legislation.
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The survey also showed that only one in five (20%) of lesbian and gay adults, when thinking about their household’s financial condition, say that they expect it to get worse in the next 6 months, compared with 32% of heterosexual adults. This is a significant decrease from May 2008 when 36% of lesbian and gay adults expected their household’s financial condition to get worse. In May 2008 31% of heterosexual adults felt the same way.
“We have tracked measures of market confidence over the past two years’ deteriorating economy. We also know that LGBT households are facing the same or in many instances, more challenging financial pressures than their counterparts,” said Wesley Combs, President of Witeck-Combs Communications. “Nonetheless, there are unmistakable trends among LGBT consumers that show consistently higher confidence in the U.S. economy and future job growth. Marketers will be smart to keep this in mind when planning their strategies in the next two years.”
Combs added, “It’s also clear that LGBT households are as susceptible as others to the economic risks of this recession. Most remain vulnerable to widespread forms of legal discrimination that tear into the protections afforded others through safety net programs. That understood, their consistent expressions of confidence in the economy are all the more significant.”
* photo from Nicholas Valentin's Flickr
