The overall health of the U.S. economy worries U.S. voters more than anything else, even the health of the labor market, a new Gallup poll finds.

The “economy in general” took the top spot on Gallup’s Most Important Problem list in October, with 37 percent of Americans branding it as the most pressing issue facing the country.

The figure rose from 29 percent in September and even exceeded concerns about unemployment, which trailed in second place at 26 percent.

Editor's Note: See the Disturbing Charts: 50% Unemployment, 90% Stock Market Crash, 100% Inflation

In September, 32 percent said unemployment was the country’s most pressing problem, with the decrease likely due to the drop in the government’s unemployment rate to 7.8 percent last month.

“The economy is the dominant issue for Americans heading into the November election and is nearly as important to Americans today as it was at this stage of the 2008 presidential election cycle.” Gallup stated.

This time around, however, economic concerns might affect voting patterns differently than in 2008.

“The obvious difference is that this time an incumbent president is seeking a second term — four years ago, both candidates were asking Americans to trust their economic policies without the benefit or liability of a presidential record to run on,” Gallup stated.

“The continued dominance of the economy as uppermost on Americans’ minds contrasts sharply with 2004 and 2000, when non-economic issues — the war in Iraq, healthcare, terrorism, education and dissatisfaction with government, among others — were most prominent.”

Separate polls paint a fairly bleak picture of the economy.

A Rasmussen Reports survey found that 47 percent of both consumers and investors think the economy is getting worse, while only 36 percent of consumers and 39 percent of investors believe it is improving.

“With the election just over two weeks away there is a large partisan divide on the economy. Just 15 percent of Republicans believe the economy is getting better, compared to 63 percent of Democrats. Seventy-two percent (72 percent) of Republicans think the economy is in a recession, while only 35 percent of Democrats share the same view.”

Editor's Note: See the Disturbing Charts: 50% Unemployment, 90% Stock Market Crash, 100% Inflation