Premier Alex Scott?s job approval ratings have plummeted to an all-time low of 37.3 percent, according to the latest survey by Research Innovations.

Public opinion of the Premier has also declined, while Opposition Leader Grant Gibbons appears to be basking in a more favourable public glow.

The survey, previously commissioned by the Bermuda Sun but which will now appear in , showed that this time one year ago 80 percent of those polled approved of the job Mr. Scott was doing as Premier.

That number fell to 69.8 percent in February, and again to 64 percent in May, then to 47.6 percent in July, before reaching 37.3 percent this month.

In that time the percent of Bermudians who disapprove of the way Mr. Scott has handled the job of Premier has risen to 36.3 percent of the 403 polled ? almost equal to those who approve of him and a significant jump up from the 2.2 percent who disapproved of his track record as Premier in February. In July, 29.6 percent of those polled disapproved of Mr. Scott?s record as Premier.

More than a quarter of those polled, 26.5 percent, said they were unsure of whether they approved or disapproved of the job the Premier is doing ? up from the 19.4 percent who felt the same in May.

The margin of error for the survey is 4.9 percent.

Mr. Scott enjoyed his greatest job approval among the youth of Bermuda, with 43.8 percent of those aged 18-35 approving of his work as Premier. Forty-two percent of those in the 36-54 age bracket and 28.6 percent of those 55 and older approved of his job track record.

Men and women were fairly evenly divided in their approval/disapproval of the Premier, with 37.3 percent of the men polled and 37 percent of the women polled approving.

Breaking down the numbers by race, 50.2 percent of the black people polled approved of the job Mr. Scott is doing (a decrease from July numbers of 58.3 percent), while 23.2 percent of whites (down from 31.5 percent in July) and 37.5 percent of mixed races approved.

Just 35 percent of those with a household income of below $50,000 approved of Mr. Scott, while 37.6 percent of those with a household income between $50,000 and $100,000 approved and 42.7 percent of those with a household income greater than $100,000 approved.

Overall opinions of Mr. Scott in general have also decreased.

In February, 74.5 percent of those polled had a favourable opinion of him, a number which dropped to 65.6 percent in July. That number has dropped to 44.8 percent this month. Thirty percent had an unfavourable opinion of him (an increase from 16.7 in July), while 25.3 percent said they were not sure what to think about Alex Scott.

PLP party spokesperson Scott Simmons said declined to comment yesterday, saying the party needed 24 hours to compare the numbers. Mr. Scott was in a Cabinet meeting all day yesterday, a Cabinet meeting all day yesterday and unable to be contacted by

Dr. Gibbons, meanwhile, is enjoying a rise in status after a brief decline in July.

Public opinion of the Opposition leader in May stood at 52.6 percent in favour, a number which slumped to 44.5 percent in July.

However, that means public opinion of Dr. Gibbons is on the rise again this month, with 50.5 percent of those polled viewing him favourably.

Favourable opinion of Dr. Gibbons was highest among seniors and men. Racially, 38.9 percent of blacks polled held a favourable opinion of him (an increase over 31.6 percent in July), while 63.2 percent of whites held the same view (a decrease from 68.5 percent in July).

Fifty percent of people of mixed races had a favourable opinion of Dr. Gibbons.

?We believe our leader is doing a good job,? Mr. Simmons said. ?We are gratified to know the numbers are moving up.?

Former Premier Jennifer Smith?s approval rating fell to less than 35 percent six weeks before the July, 2003 General Election, after which she was dethroned by Mr. Scott.

This month?s survey was conducted by random telephone polling from November 13 until November 17.