Poll: Hoosiers want jobs in Indiana

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - Politicians talked all fall 2012 about jobs and schools. The new exclusive WISH-TV / Ball State University Hoosier Survey shows that those are the top two issues taxpayers want to hear.

Four out of five people contacted in the Hoosier Survey named jobs as the top priority in Indiana. An overwhelming 81 percent of those polled said bringing more jobs to Indiana is their top priority.

It's the third straight year that jobs topped the priority list in the Hoosier Survey done by the Bowen Center for Public Affairs at Ball State University.

Of those polled, 60 percent said they're satisfied with the state's record of attracting jobs to the state with one in three not satisfied.

65 percent said improving local schools is a top priority.

Close behind were making government more efficient and providing more affordable healthcare coverage. Those two issues were tied at 61 percent.

Filling out the list were protecting the environment at 44 percent, reducing illegal immigration at 36 percent and improving highways and roads at 31 percent.

Reducing illegal immigration is a lower priority this year than it has been in prior years. It fell 9 percentage points on the priority list in 2012 to 36 percent.

Improving public transportation was at the bottom of the list of priorities at 21 percent. That's a bad sign for Mayor Ballard and supporters of mass transit.

The Hoosier Survey was conducted for WISH-TV and the Bowen Center for Public Affairs by Princeton Research Associates International (PSRAI) from Nov. 12 - 24, 2012. PSRAI surveyed 602 Hoosier adults by landline and cell phone, chosen randomly, yielding a margin of sampling error of +/- 4.5 percent. In addition to providing statewide results, some findings also were broken down by region.