Obama slumps among business owners: Gallup

If the November election were held today, and only business owners could vote, President Barack Obama would lose in a landslide, according to a new Gallup poll. The survey, released Thursday, found that 35 percent of that relatively small minority of Americans approve of the job he's doing, while 59 percent disapprove.

The figure slipped from 41 percent approval in the first quarter of 2012, Gallup said. The organization underlined that the decline came in March and April, well before the Republican onslaught on his remarks about small businesses owing some of their success to government investments in things like infrastructure and education.

"Thus it is not yet clear whether those comments have led to further deterioration in Obama's standing among small-business owners," Gallup said.

The president might also write off the bulk of voters from the farming, fishing and forestry sectors. His approval rating there is just 34 percent, against 57 percent disapproval. Those in construction and mining also seem to favor Republican challenger Mitt Romney: Obama's ratings there break down to 37 approve to 53 percent disapprove.

Maybe the president could call in some help from workers from the installation or repair fields, where 44 percent approve of the job he's doing — up sharply from 32 percent in the first quarter of 2012.

Overall, 47 percent of Americans approved of the president's work, and 47 percent disapproved—a slight improvement from a 45-48 percent split in the first quarter.

Where does Obama do best? He's running 52 percent approval to 43 percent disapproval rating among professional workers, 51-45 percent among clerical and office workers and 50-40 percent among service workers. And the survey showed him making gains from the first quarter of 2012 among seven of the 11 professional categories Gallup used, stalled in two and down in two.