More than a third of people are pleased with this year?s Budget and almost half think economic conditions in Bermuda are good, according to a survey commissioned by .

Our poll asked 404 people a series of questions related to the economy, including how they rated the February Budget delivered by Finance Minister Paula Cox.

Of those quizzed, 32.9 percent described it as good, 46.8 percent as only fair, 12.8 percent as poor and 7.5 percent as excellent.

The survey, carried out between between March 11 and 15, also asked people to comment on the Island?s current economic conditions.

More than 43 percent said they were good, 12.6 percent said excellent, 30.3 percent said only fair and 13.4 said poor.

More than half of respondents ? 56.9 percent ? said they were dissatisfied ?in general? with the way things are going in Bermuda at the moment; 37.6 percent were satisfied and 5.4 percent were not sure.

When asked if the economy was moving in the right direction, 46.5 percent believed it was, 40.3 percent felt it wasn?t and 13.1 percent were not sure.

Blacks appeared to rate the Budget more highly than whites: 10.4 percent of blacks questioned thought it was excellent, compared to no whites.

More than 38 percent of blacks thought it was good, compared to 21.3 percent of whites. More than 20 percent of whites described the Budget as poor. Just under 11 per cent of blacks questioned felt the same way.

Women were happier with the Budget than men: 34 percent of those asked their opinion declared it good, compared to 29.6 percent of males. Young people (aged 18-35) also rated it most highly. Slightly more than 38 percent found it good, compared to 34.7 percent of those aged 36 to 54 and 26.3 percent of those aged 55 or over.

Almost half (48.2 percent) of the black people polled felt the economy was headed in the right direction, compared to 39.4 percent of whites, 61.5 percent of mixed race respondents and 100 percent of Asians.

More men than women also approved of the direction in which the economy was going: 48 percent believed it was the right direction, compared to 45.6 percent of women asked the same question.

Those earning between $50,000 and $100,000 a year were most pleased with the economic conditions on the Island. Just over half (51.9 percent) in that salary bracket rated conditions as good, compared to 38.6 percent in the under $50,000 a year group and 45.8 percent of those earning more than $100,000.

Almost 59 percent of men were not happy with the way things are going in Bermuda, 35.8 per cent were satisfied and 5.4 per cent were not sure.

The results were similar for women: 56 percent were dissatisfied, 38.5 percent were satisfied and 5.6 per cent were not sure.

The over 55s were the least satisfied when asked the same question. Almost 68 per cent of over 55s quizzed were unhappy with the current state of play on the Island.

But 44.3 percent of those aged 18 to 35 were satisfied ? the exact same percent that were dissatisfied in that age range.

With regard to race, 68.2 percent of whites polled were dissatisfied, compared to 54.4 per cent of blacks. The Research Innovations poll has a 4.9 percent margin of error.