Fears about the economy have overtaken crime as the biggest issue facing Bermuda, particularly among young people, according to a poll.

An independent survey released last week by Research.bm found a fifth of voters – 22 percent – believed the economy/unemployment was the number one issue, followed by crime, 19 percent, and housing, 11 percent.

Last quarter, a similar poll of registered voters found crime the number one concern of 32 percent, followed by the economy/unemployment, 20 percent, and housing, 19 percent.

According to the latest telephone survey, whites were more likely to pick the economy/unemployment as the biggest issue, with 35 percent of white voters expressing their concern compared to 14 percent of blacks.

Black voters were more likely to say crime and housing were the top challenges, with 23 percent opting for crime compared to 17 percent of whites, and 18 percent of blacks for housing, compared to four percent of whites.

However, crime was also a major concern among a quarter of women, 25 percent, and almost a third – 32 percent – of 55 to 64-year-olds.

Among young people, 21 percent said the economy was the biggest issue facing Bermuda, with another 21 percent opting for crime and 11 percent for housing.

Three months ago in a similar survey, 33 percent of 18 to 34-year-olds said crime was the major concern, followed by housing, 31 percent, and the economy, 19 percent.

The latest Research.bm 'Political Opinions Poll' found that when it comes to confidence in the economy, only 18 percent of voters are confident in the direction that Bermuda is heading. The results are consistent with those of the last quarter, 17 percent.

However, just nine percent of young people are optimistic – almost two-thirds, 63 percent, say they lack confidence in the economy.

This marks a jump of almost 20 percent on the last quarter, when 45 percent of 18 to 34-year-olds stated they were uncertain.

Almost half the voters polled – 48 percent – expressed a lack of confidence in the economy in the latest survey. The lack of faith was particularly strong among whites, with 64 percent saying they were not confident. Only six percent of this demographic was confident, compared to 29 percent of black voters.

Among the black demographic, 37 percent was not optimistic about the direction in which the economy was going.

The older generation of Bermuda was more optimistic, with 32 percent of seniors – almost a third – expressing confidence in the economy.

Research.bm utilised computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) to canvass a representative sample of 405 Bermudians aged 18 and over. The data was weighted to be representative of Bermuda's population on age, education, race and gender. The margin of error for the survey is +/- 4.9 percent.