SCSU survey: Jobs remain No. 1 concern for state

More than half of Minnesotans asked during the most recent St. Cloud State University survey think the state is headed in the wrong direction.
Fifty-six percent of the 626 Minnesotans randomly selected for the survey Oct. 17-26 had that opinion. That’s down 1 percent from last year.
And those surveyed identified unemployment and job opportunities as the biggest problem facing the state. Budget and budget deficit was second, followed by the economy.
The survey also asked whether the state constitution should be amended so that only a union of one man and one woman will be valid or recognized as a marriage in Minnesota.
Forty-seven percent said the constitution shouldn’t be amended in that fashion, while 44 percent believed it should be amended.
The gap widened depending on how the person being asked was contacted. Of those who were asked the marriage amendment question on a “landline” phone, 48 percent supported the marriage amendment. Only 39 percent of those contacted on their cellphones supported the marriage amendment.
The survey’s margin of error was plus or minus 5 percent.
Other survey questions asked about the job performances of President Barack Obama and Gov. Mark Dayton. Obama’s performance rating increased, with 41 percent rating his performance as excellent or pretty good. That’s up from 38 percent last year. But 59 percent rated his performance only fair or poor.
As for Dayton, 45 percent rated his performance excellent or pretty good, while 50 percent rated his performance as fair or poor.
When asked who was to blame for last summer’s state government shutdown, 57 percent blamed the Legislature, 19 percent blamed Dayton and 19 percent said that both were to blame.