Just 40 percent of the general public think the economy is moving in the right direction according to the latest Research Innovations poll commissioned by The Royal Gazette.

Just ahead of February 18 when Finance Minister Paula Cox is scheduled to release the 2005 budget, pollsters found that a slight majority, 41.6 percent of respondents, felt the economy was moving in the wrong direction while 17.8 percent of the 401 people polled were not sure how they felt. The random telephone poll took place between January 17-20 and has a margin of error of 4.9 percent.

Younger people were by far the most optimistic about the way things were going with 55.8 percent of people aged 18-35 responding that the economy was moving in the right direction. This compares to just 37.2 percent of those in the 36-54 age bracket and 35.3 percent of those aged 55 plus. Exactly half of those in the middle-aged bracket disapproved of the direction of the economy compared to just 26.7 percent of those aged 18-35 and 39.8 percent of those 55 and over.

Across gender lines, both sexes were pretty evenly split on their outlook: 43.4 percent of males said the economy was moving in the right direction compared to a slightly higher group of males, 45.1 percent, who said the economy was heading the wrong way.

Just 11.6 percent of men were unsure on the subject compared to 23 percent of females. Females who voiced opinion were split with 39.2 percent saying the economy was headed in the right direction as opposed to 37.8 percent who were not.

Not surprisingly, wealthier respondents had a much rosier outlook on the state of the economy.

Almost half of those with household income under $50,000, 46.7 percent, felt the economy was headed in the wrong direction compared to 26.7 percent of people in that income bracket who were happy with the way the economy was going. This compares to 48.7 percent of respondents with household incomes between $50,000-$100,000 and 43 percent of those in the plus $100,000 bracket who gave the economy's direction a thumbs up. Of those in the middle income bracket, 38 percent said the economy was going in the wrong direction compared to 43 percent in the highest bracket.

On racial lines, just 32.8 percent of blacks were happy with the direction the economy was headed while 45.5 percent were not, this compares to 56.8 percent of whites who approved of the direction of the economy and 33.6 percent of whites who did not. Of those who described themselves as mixed race, 60 percent said the economy was headed in the wrong direction while 40 percent were uncertain.

Pollsters also asked respondents how they would rate economic conditions in the country today. At the time of the poll, just 8 percent or respondents used the word "excellent" compared to 43.3 percent who thought it was good. Almost as many respondents gave less positive thoughts on the economy with 40.2 percent of respondents describing economic conditions as fair while 8.5 percent said they were poor.

Again household income greatly depended upon how respondents viewed conditions today. In households where income was under $50,000, just 11.2 percent thought conditions were excellent while 20.2 percent used the word good. A majority, 55.1 percent thought conditions were only fair while a further 13.5 percent said conditions were poor. Not surprisingly contentedness with conditions rose with income brackets with 4.7 percent and 47.3 percent of those with household incomes of $50,000-$100,000 describing conditions as excellent and good respectively while 39.2 percent said conditions were only fair and 8.8 percent said poor. Just over 12 percent of those in the $100,000 plus income bracket felt conditions were excellent while 53.9 percent felt conditions were good .

Whites slightly outnumbered blacks in their rosy outlook on the economy with 8.4 percent of whites and 7.5 percent of blacks describing conditions as excellent.

While 55.2 percent of whites and 33.9 percent of blacks stated conditions were good, 46.7 percent of blacks and 33.6 percent of whites said the conditions were only fair.

The majority of respondents of mixed race described conditions as good while 20 percent said things were excellent and another 20 percent said conditions were only fair.

Men were more likely than women to rate economic conditions highly with 7.2 percent of males describing conditions as excellent and 52.1 describing conditions as good compared to 8.8 percent of women who saw things as excellent and 35.5 percent who saw conditions as good.

Younger people were also more optimistic than their elders with 11.6 percent of those aged 18-35 describing conditions as excellent and 58.1 percent describing conditions as good compared to just 8.1 percent of 36-54 years who said conditions were excellent and 46.5 percent said conditions of goods.

This compares to those aged 55 plus where only 5.4 percent used the word excellent and 29.2 percent said things were good. The majority in that age bracket, 55.4 percent said things were only fair and 10 percent said things were poor.