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 Purchase, NY - The economic downturn continues to take its toll on the attitude and behavior of Westchester, Rockland and Putnam county residents, as reported in a new poll conducted by Manhattanville College.
When the poll results are compared with identical questions asked on the Manhattanville Poll in September 2008, the results show little improvement in residents’ views.
“The psychological impact of the economic decline continues to influence the mind-set and behavior even in the so-called affluent suburbs,” said Richard Berman, President of Manhattanville College. “We see little improvement in perceptions of the economy and people continue to modify their spending behavior in response to personal economic circumstances or their general concerns about the future.”
Residents’ ratings of New York State’s economy are overwhelmingly bleak: only 14 percent see the economy positively and 83 percent view it in a negative light. Though the economy of the three counties is considered to be in somewhat better shape, respondents still harbor negative opinions, with 23 percent responding positively and 74 percent answering negatively.
“Six months ago, the numbers showed that residents did not see this as a temporary situation and the new results support that analysis,” said Berman.
Poll participants are still deeply concerned about their families’ financial security over the next year: 46 percent expressed that they are “very concerned,” 29 percent indicated they’re “somewhat concerned” and only 14 percent and 11 percent were “slightly concerned” or “not at all concerned,” respectively.
When asked about ways the economy has impacted their families, 71 percent of respondents replied that they were cutting down on entertainment and eating out; 70 percent said they were buying less clothing and less expensive clothing; 65 percent said they were buying less expensive food; and 62 percent said they were saving less. These numbers are comparable to the results tabulated in September 2008.
METHODOLOGY
The Manhattanville College poll was conducted by telephone interview with 505 residents who were 18 years of age or older and reside in Westchester, Rockland or Putnam counties. The residents were selected through a process of random digit dialing to ensure any resident with a phone would have an equal probability of being selected for the poll.
The interviews were distributed throughout the counties using a geographic quota by zip code based on the US Census and weighting to ensure a representative sample of the three county area by geography, gender, age and race.
The margin of error for the poll is approximately +/- 4.5% at the 95% confidence interval for percentages at 50%. It decreases to +/- 2.7% for percentages at 10 or 90%. The error margin for sub-groups is higher and is a function of the number of respondents in the group. The poll was conducted April 28 to May 2.
The poll referenced from September 2008 was a sample of 504 residents conducted by telephone interviews using random digit dialing and methods similar to the current poll. It differed only slightly in the distribution of sample.
The Manhattanville College Poll
Established in 1997, the Manhattanville College Poll is a project of Manhattanville College in Purchase, N.Y. The project gauges public opinion on a host of issues in New York State and the Lower Hudson Valley.
The Manhattanville Poll is conducted under the supervision of Richard A. Berman, president of Manhattanville College and chairman of the Westchester County Medical Center, and Andrew J. Zambelli, Ph.D., a market research consultant with 30 years experience in polling and politics.
About Manhattanville College:
Manhattanville College (www.manhattanville.edu) is an independent, co-educational liberal arts institution whose mission is to educate ethically and socially responsible leaders for the global community. Located just 30 minutes from New York City, Manhattanville serves 1,700 undergraduate students and 1,200 graduate students from 76 countries and 48 states. Founded in 1841, the College offers more than 50 undergraduate areas of study in the arts and sciences and has one of the largest teacher education programs in New York State.
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