By Richard Cowan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Almost three-quarters of Americans are very concerned about unemployment and more people now disapprove of President Barack Obama than approve of him, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found on Tuesday.
In grim news for Democrats ahead of November's midterm elections, 72 percent of people said they were very worried about joblessness and 67 percent were very concerned at government spending.
With congressional elections a little more than two months away, the poll showed 92 percent of those surveyed were very concerned or somewhat concerned about joblessness.
The U.S. unemployment rate has been hovering near 10 percent all year, registering 9.5 percent in June and July.
Another bit of bad economic news arrived on Tuesday when the National Association of Realtors reported that the sale of existing homes plummeted 27.2 percent in July from the previous month, a worse than expected showing. The data is one of several key indicators of the health of the U.S. economy.
Obama's disapproval rating was 52 percent, overtaking his approval rating for the first time in an Ipsos poll. Only 45 percent of people said they approved of the president's performance.
That number, coupled with a hearty 62 percent who think the country is going in the wrong direction, could spell trouble for Democrats, who control both chambers of Congress and the White House.
While Obama has two more years before facing voters in a presidential election, all 435 seats in the House of Representatives are up for grabs, along with 37 Senate seats and 36 governors in November's elections.
Typically in mid-term elections -- when there is no presidential race -- the party in power in the White House suffers losses in Congress.
The deep economic concerns and voter anger about out-of-control federal budget deficits, has led to betting that Republicans could take control of the House and win a significant number of seats in the Senate.
Forty-six percent of registered U.S. voters would likely vote for Republican candidates in November and 45 pct for Democrats, according to the Reuters/Ipsos poll, which surveyed 1,063 adults and was conducted August 19-22.
The poll has a margin of error of 3 percentage points.
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