These are the topline results of a YouGov/Huffington Post survey of 1000 US adults interviewed October 1 - 2, 2013 on federal workers and the shutdown. The results show that people are split on whether they view federal workers favorably but Americans tend to think that furloughed federal employees should get back pay after the shutdown ends. The margin of error is 4.2%.
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How much have you heard about the federal government partially shutting down until President Obama and Republicans in Congress agree on a new budget deal?
Heard a lot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .71%
Heard a little . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27%
Heard nothing at all . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2%
Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of federal government employees?
Very favorable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12%
Somewhat favorable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27%
Somewhat unfavorable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27%
Very unfavorable . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18%
Not sure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16%
Many government employees aren’t allowed to work during a government shutdown. After the shutdown, should federal employees be paid for the time when they weren’t allowed to work?
Yes, these employees should receive back pay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47%
No, these employees should not receive back pay . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38%
Not sure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15%
