Americans Lose Faith That Hard Work Leads to Economic Gains, WSJ-NORC Poll Finds

The poll is more interesting than the article: https://prod-i.a.dj.com/public/resources/documents/WSJNORCJu...

37% of people in the survey are unemployed. That is very high. Not at all representative of the general population (4 to 5%).

69% live in a home they or someone in their household owns.

That sounds a lot like young adults yet to get off their feet.

More interesting things:

- opinion on economy and own financial health has improved over the past 3 years

- the opinion on the American dream is actually quite stable over the past several years. There is a slight negative trend. You could write the same article 3 years ago.

>> 37% of people in the survey are unemployed. That is very high. Not at all representative of the general population (4 to 5%).

I think the confusion here is the definition of various BLS metrics on unemployment. If I have a STEM degree, for example, but was working as a cashier -- I wouldnt officially be considered unemployed. In practical terms, many of these individuals would label themselves as unemployed, as they may be seeking work aligned to their aspirations/degrees/years-of-training. Same for gig work, Uber driving, Door Dashing, Amazon deliveries, etc.

Also, once you are unemployed/underemployed for long enough, it gets treated as "structural unemployment" and doesn't get counted, hence the 4-5% figure you are citing.

I have friends' parents who were used to making 50k, 60k, or more. They dont have the same opportunities and now might be faced with making much less, often without benefits. In one case, I knew someone who was offered 35k p/t without benefits (thus, they would then just sink 20k of that into healthcare.) They did the math and the 35k was a net negative considering having to pay for healthcare, transportation to work, etc. Instead they just stayed unemployed. That isnt counted as unemployment, hence the 4-5% figure you are citing.