A Gallup/USA Today poll from July 30, 2012 found that American voters overall see the following issues as top priorities (rated ‘Extremely/Very Important’) in the upcoming presidential election:
- jobs (92%)
- reducing corruption in the federal government (87%)
- reducing the federal budget deficit (86%)
- dealing with terrorism and other international threats (86%)
- securing Medicare and Social Security in the long term (85%)
- improving public schools (83%)
The full list is longer and features more items.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, unemployment has declined slightly since 2010:
July 2008: 5.8%
July 2009: 9.5%
July 2010: 9.5%
July 2011: 9.1%
July 2012: 8.3%