Poll: Americans More Concerned With Jobs Than Gulf Oil Spill

The public's concern about disaster response and relief has catapulted as a result of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill but still trails in people's minds behind the economy and jobs, a new Gallup poll finds.

Eighteen percent of Americans surveyed list natural disaster recovery as the most important problem facing the nation, an increase of 17 points since early May when the severity of the oil spill caused by an April 20 BP oil rig explosion was first being realized.

However, it still is not as big a problem as the economy and the need for jobs, with nearly half of voters picking those two topics as the most important problems the country must resolve.

The economy is the biggest problem for 28 percent of those surveyed. Jobs capture the attention of 21 percent. That's up 2 points and down 1 point, respectively, from the May poll, according to Gallup.

Dissatisfaction with government captured the top problem for 14 percent of those surveyed. Health care rounded out the top five, with 10 percent, though that marked a considerable decline since the congressional debate over the health insurance overhaul.

The survey taken June 11-13 of 1,014 adults had a margin of error of 4 percent.

Click here to read the results.